


Cherry Cola Sunset

by NorthFollower



Category: BLACKPINK (Band), LOONA (Korea Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Roommates/Housemates, Blind Date, But its NOT a coffee shop AU!, Chaelisa - Freeform, Coffee Shops, Drinking & Talking, Eventual Happy Ending, F/F, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Magical Realism, Mentioned LOONA Ensemble, New Year's Eve, OT4, Pajama Party, Pining, Potions, Slow Burn, Witch Lalisa Manoban|Lisa, Witch Park Chaeyoung| Rosé, Witches, lots of cookin, they only show up for a bit!
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-16
Updated: 2021-03-08
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:21:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 43,840
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27051829
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NorthFollower/pseuds/NorthFollower
Summary: “I mean, you graduated and went straight to setting up a potions shop, so everyone thought you would get yourself an apprentice, but it’s been a few years and…”“What are you talking about? My potion business?”, Lisa asked.Rosé frowned, and the little paper swan tore itself into pieces on her plate.“Yes? What else? I thought this was a job interview."They both stared into the tablecloth for a few seconds, perplexed."What? Hecate help me.", Lisa said, sighing. "I thought this was a blind date. Jisoo set us up.".Or: There is a magic kitchen, Jensoo is the high-fashion power couple we deserve, Rosé just came back from a Culinary Course in France and Lisa gets very, very, distracted.Plus, very necessary cooking scenes as well as some good ol' pining girls.
Relationships: Jennie Kim/Kim Jisoo, Lalisa Manoban | Lisa/Park Chaeyoung | Rosé
Comments: 83
Kudos: 130





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Just saw the Netflix documentary and had to give an outlet to all that (or else id go crazy)  
> Please be delicate with me, I am not a native English speaker and have a very sensitive heart. But please, if anything is too badly written let me know. (I promise i wont cry)  
> Here we go.

Lisa tapped her cup twice with her index finger to warm it back up, sipping it absentmindedly. Coffee didn't do so much for her since her charm considered it a mild sort of poison and neutralized its effects before it could get her buzzed. But the dark and rich taste felt comforting, and holding something warm in her hands meant less possibility of fidgeting.

She looked around the coffee shop, slightly annoyed at her date's tardiness. Checked her wristwatch for the time, again. Well, only two minutes had passed since five, but... The glass door at the front of the cafe opened with a little jingle from its brass bell.Lisa felt her before she saw her, a bright burst of sunshine and lavender warmth, coiling and unfurling lazily as the girl didn't bother to contain her own magic in a public space. But then Lisa looked at her, and it wasn't only warm summer breeze and light through lace curtains. On the door, peering around, was the cutest girl she had ever set her eyes on.

The girl had blonde hair, and long, long, long legs in black thigh socks. She was delicate like a ballerina, with kind eyes and an easy, charming smile. All that and she was walking briskly towards Lisa, waving and turning up the smile up a notch, apologetic.

"Hello, sorry I'm late, traffic."

She took off her cream overcoat, a fluffy white sweater under that, with a hint of a golden chain tucked safely underneath. Set her purse on the back of the chair, looking at the cup Lisa had in her hands.

"Hope you didn't wait long."

"No, I just got here.", Lisa said hastily, shaking her head. Never mind her coffee was almost over. And she arrived half an hour early. "Did you get anything on your way in?"

"Oh, not really. What did you get?", she asked in sweetly, tilting her head. Her hair swished forth as she came closer, and brushed Lisa's hands on top of the table , as she looked at the little laminated menu.

Lisa closed her eyes, breathing in again warmth and cleanliness, mint and fresh laundry. In the closed-off shop, where the air was honestly already a little stale with the fumes from the kitchen, she was quite literally a breath of fresh air.

They were sat in a small rounded table, in high chairs meant for couples sharing a drink. The girl was too close for comfort, eyes glittering prettily with peach colored glitter on top. And waiting for Lisa to answer.

"Just a regular black coffee.", Lisa said, shaking her head. "Let me get something for you. What do you want?"

"Black coffee? ", she asked, eyes going round with surprise."You looked like you had a sweet tooth.", she whispered, smiling.

"Did I?", Lisa frowned, looking down at her own ripped jeans and ratty Iron Maiden shirt, at the onyx rings in her bony fingers. "That's a first.”, she noted, breathing out an almost-laugh. “...So, what do you want, cutie?", she leaned closer as she asked, smirking.

The girl blushed. How cute.

“It’s my treat, since you are Jisoo’s friend.”

Jisoo had little to say, only insisting that Lisa met up with the girl as soon as possible, since she had just arrived from abroad. An old friend of hers, a fourth generation witch, but not a snotty purebreed one. Since she was on a little break from bigger commissions, Lisa had the extra time to lounge around and meet new people. Now, looking at the girl in front of her, fidgeting with the thin golden ring on her index finger, she was glad she caved in to Jisoo’s insistence.

"If you are offering, could I have a caramel macchiato, please?", she asked and smiled again, as if shy for her order.

"Of course. Give me a second, be right back.", Lisa said, getting up. On her way to the counter, she winked at her date.

She got the sweet drink, a refill of her black coffee and a strawberry cupcake, since the girl looked so sweet, wrapped up in her little schoolgirl skirt like a piece of candy.

She came back to the table, drinks and pastry balancing with a discrete floating spell on the tray she was holding. Lisa looked around the cafe, just to be sure, and let them float to the table. They hovered on top for a few seconds before dropping slowly, and maybe Lisa was showing off, but the other girl was delighted at the display, clapping.

"Whoa, that was good." , the girl said, mouth open. Then she eyed the pink frosted cupcake for a second, before Lisa set it in front of her. "How did you know strawberry was my favourite?"

"A guess.", Lisa answered. A hunch, a little bit of intuition, and the half folded strawberry handkerchief poking out of the girl's handbag. She smiled at her. "So...what's your name, pretty?"

"Uhh, what? I'm Rosé.", the girl said, unwrapping the cupcake carefully with her fingers. The tips of her nails had little gems on it.

"Well, Rosé, I'm Lisa, nice to meet you.", Lisa said, taking a sip of her coffee slowly.

"I know.", Rosé answered as she took a bite out of the cupcake. She hummed, eyes closed

"Wait, so you know me?", Lisa stopped, taking down her cup. She thought this was a mostly blind date. At least that was what Jisoo told her.

"Of course.", Rosé said around a mouth full of buttercream frosting. If anyone else was doing it, it would be disgusting, but the girl was endearing with her puffed cheeks. "Master potioneer, a total genius, a recluse. Until now!", she said, fist in the air. “What kind of person would I be if I didn't?”

"What? A recluse?", Lisa snorted. She wasn't a recluse, she had a social circle.

Of two people. Sometimes more, counting her cats and her more loyal clients.

"Don't try to lie, I didn't even know what you looked like until I came in here.”, the girl laughed, her eyes curving up mischievously. “I thought you were going to be old and with a wart on your nose or something like that.", she stared at Lisa, gaze carefully stopping just above the low cut of her cropped shirt. Then they flitted up. “I’m glad, though.”

"What?", Lisa spluttered around her coffee.

What made Rosé accept the blind date? An actual interest in old, wrinkled witches?

"Your reputation precedes you.", she explained, looking at her own nails. Her long legs crossed under the table, lightly touching Lisa's. Her stockings were soft on the exposed skin poking out of the rips of Lisa’s jeans, almost burning hot. In a brief moment where Lisa simply couldn’t breathe.

"Ah, okay. So...what do you do for a living?", Lisa asked, feeling herself warm up. She coughed into her own hand, trying to steer the conversation into safer territory. She didn’t move away from touch under the table.

"Oh, I'm a professional cook!”, she said, face glowing with pride. “ Cordon Bleu, came back home looking for a job. Now I'm here.", she said. She picked up the crumbs from the cupcake from the plate absentmindedly. The tip of her tongue was now stained pink from the strawberry jam.

"Wow, that's amazing. I don't even know how to fry an egg.", Lisa said, laughing.

"That's why I'm here, I guess.", Rosé replied, smiling brightly. "I'm just glad the opportunity came."

Lisa touched her pendant, willing her heart to slow down and stop pumping furious blood into her cheeks. The girl seemed so proper but was a complete and shameless flirt. Such a dangerous combination.

They stared at each other for a second, and Lisa could swear she felt something. A spark, a hint of a “maybe”. They both exhaled at the same time, and then giggled.

“So, what made you change your mind?”, Rosé asked, folding the cupcake wrapper into a little swan. She charmed it to fly around both of them before slowly coming back to her plate. Pretty delicate magic, Lisa noted. Funny she couldn’t control her own aura just as well.

“Sorry, change my mind on what?”, Lisa turned her head, frowning. Maybe she was a little out of the dating loop, but she hoped Jisoo didn’t spill her beans to her.

“I mean, you graduated and went straight to setting up a potions shop, so everyone thought you would get yourself an apprentice, but it’s been a few years and…”

“What are you talking about? My potion business?”, Lisa asked.

Rosé frowned, and the little paper swan tore itself into pieces on her plate.

“Yes? What else?”

“Why do you want to know if i’m taking in an apprentice?”, Lisa asked. "Why are you talking work right now?"

She trusted Jisoo with all her heart, but she worked in a highly competitive business, and if Rosé was some type of spy she would get really mad at her. But Rosé only looked as confused as her, face contorted. She bit her lower lip.

"...you aren't looking for an apprentice?", Rosé asked. “Jisoo said you were interested.”

She didn't know wether to laugh or go punch Jisoo on her pretty face.

"What? No! I work alone!"

Lisa got up from the table. The porcelain plate tinkled and almost fell into the floor. "Urgh, I can't believe this", she said, pacing around the cafe. A few patrons turned, but quickly turned back to their meals after seeing who was losing her patience. They knew not to bother an angry witch, at least.

"What did you think this was?", Lisa asked, pulling at her own hair. She didn't lose her patience easily, but the whole thing was absolutely ridiculous. Her pendant heated up, almost burning a brand on her chest trying to keep her magic stable.

Rosé seemed smaller than when she came in, hands tucked under her skirt. Lips pursed, she said, looking down:

"I thought it was a job interview."

"What?", Lisa said, covering her face with her own hands for a second.

She did a quick silencing spell around her hands and screamed her frustrations into them, then sat back into the high table as if nothing had happened. The way Rosé looked at her, though, showed that maybe she had to power up the spell more next time.

"Jisoo said you needed help with your orders, and I'm not certified, but I know my way around fire and plants, and I said I could help you maybe? And she said yes, and said that you agreed to a meeting here.", she said, panicking.

"Hecate help me.", Lisa said, sighing. "I thought this was a blind date. Jisoo set us up."

They both stared into the tablecloth for a few seconds, perplexed. Lisa would KILL her friend when she sees her the next time. How could she just trick them both like that. Rosé could be looking for a real job opportunity, instead of wasting time with Lisa in a fake coffee date. She couldn’t even imagine how Rosé was feeling, if Jisoo had said she would give her a job, and…

"Wait, why did you touch my leg under the table?", Lisa asked, remembering the stocking clad leg coming to brush her legs from time to time.

"Oh, that was...hmm...", Rosé started, blushing a faint pink. "You didn't seem bothered by it either.", she said, crossing her arms.

Well, that was true, Lisa had to admit. She was so cute too. It would be a pity if Lisa lost all contact with her. And she was Jisoo’s friend, and that had to count for something.

There was a beat of silence while Rosé sighed deeply, and Lisa took her chance. Seize the day and all that.

"So...Jisoo is coming by my home later to pick up a potion, you want to wait for her with me? I promise I will make her apologize to you.", she said suddenly. “I mean, if you want to, since, huh...we kind of have a mutual friend and all…”

Rosé nodded, mouth set in a tiny angry line.

"I'll hex that girl to hell and back!", she promised herself.“I still can’t believe she did that to me.”, she commented, shaking her head. “I haven’t even finished unpacking.”

“Oh, you want to go back to your home and finish that?”, Lisa asked. “I can hex Jisoo by myself, if you are…”

“No, I wanna go.”, Rosé interrupted, smiling. “I think we could make the best of this. I’d love to hang out”, she added, popping the rest of her little cupcake into her mouth. “Jisoo said you were friends before she even met me.”

Cheeks full and bright, she caught Lisa's gaze and gave her a thumbs up.

"You look like a little chipmunk, Rosé.", Lisa said, picking up her bag and tossing it over her shoulder. “My house is close, can we walk?"

"Yeahf, Shure...", she said, nodding around a mouth full of cake. “I mean, thank you so much for inviting me.”, she added after she properly swallowed. She smiled, looking down at her feet.

Lisa, against all common sense, found herself smiling back.

"Awesome.”

She put back her jacket and handbag and the both of them walked out into the busy streets, bracing themselves against the wind. Lisa had her phone out, texting Jisoo and confirming she would be coming over. Rosé had the tip of her nose pink and was quickly finishing her coffee, looking around the buildings with interest. Since she had just come from overseas, there were probably lots of changes on the scenery.

Lisa couldn't help but smile at her when they arrived into the apartment complex, eyes wide seeing the golden plaque with her name on the entrance. She waved at the receptionist, who only nodded back.

"Wait, are you rich, rich? I knew your potions work, but this feels...", the girl trailed off, looking around as they went into the elevator, with old fashioned brass doors and female voice soothingly naming the floors over them. "this feels a bit too much, Lisa."

"Says the one who went to Cordon Bleu.", Lisa countered easily, hands deep into her jeans pockets, getting off and into the hallways.

Rosé followed behind her, as they both stopped in front of the apartment. Lisa put her finger on the center of the sigil of the door, letting the wards fall down and letting it know she had a new guest as well. It groaned a little, as if unused to letting in someone who wasn’t an old client, Jisoo or her girlfriend.

And sometimes the son of the landlady who came in to repair something and always took way too much time talking with her cats. Damn him and his animal shapeshifting ways, she wasn’t able to stop him since Luca adored him.

"Your welcome mat is so cute!", Rosé exclaimed, pointing down.

Lisa looked down, eyeing the old carpet with the faces of two of her cats, who were then cute kittens. As she opened the door to her apartment, both meowed loudly, running over to her rubbing themselves on her legs.

"Leo, stop, we have guests.", she said quickly. Her cat stared at Rosé, who stared back making grabby hands. Leo sauntered back into the depths of her apartment, liquifying like smoke along the shadows.

“Wow! Are they magical as well?”, Rosé asked when Lily stared up at her from a foot above the floor where she was hovering silently.

“Yeah, I mean, they’ve been living with me for quite some time, and picked up on some things.”, Lisa said, petting her.

“Cats are so smart.”, Rosé whispered, looking around as if waiting for Leo to materialize back on top of the pile of dirty laundry.

Which, considering, Lisa should have cleaned up a little before inviting someone as pretty and put together as Rosé.

She sighed, damning her short-sightedness.

There was nothing she could do now, and even if she could, where would she put the dozens of potted magical plants, and the herbs hanging from the ceilings?

She absolutely would not let her in into her kitchen, which was also her makeshift lab. And her study, sometimes.

It was a thousand times worse than the living room, but Lisa had a certain order to the chaos. She absolutely needed to have that dried lizard laying on the couch.

For magical reasons, of course.

"Welcome to my humble home, I guess.", Lisa said, shoving the door open with her hip and shoving her other cat, Lily, inside. The cat meowed sadly, dejected by her owner, floating back into Lisa's room to probably destroy her pillows or something.

Lisa breathed in, glad that the most acceptable place, the living room, was where Rosé would stay.

She rushed forward, taking out a quartz bucket filled with spring water off the worn couch and putting it back on the floor, besides the coffee table filled with books and scribbled parchment. She snatched the dried lizard as well, shoving it on her pocket and making a mental note to take it out before she did the laundry.

A few plants wiggled and curled on their pots all around the floor, and a fern came to play with Rosé’s pretty hair, making her giggle.

The living room was the most acceptable place, but that didn't mean it was exceptionally clean. As Rosé primly sat down on the bright yellow sofa, Lisa prayed to all the deities that she wouldn't notice the dead bug by her feet. Wow, her shoes were cute. 

"Your house is lovely.", Rosé said, and something in her awed tone of voice made it seem honest. "A bit more...rowdy than I thought it would be, but very cozy.", she added, covering a laugh with one hand.

"Let me take your bag and coat", Lisa said, taking them and letting her old marble statue hold it for her. Caesar wouldn't mind. She turned back at Rosé, who was smiling at something on her phone. Rosé put it back in her skirt pocket when she noticed Lisa staring. Just to be polite or a sign she shouldn't pry?

"Arm...you want coffee? Tea? Spring water?", Lisa asked, taking the books and fountain pens out of the coffee table and waving her hand for them to go orderly into her room. Rosé eyed the bucket by her feet, next to the dead bug. "The quartz keeps the water fresh."

"No, thanks, I'm still full.', she answered, smiling politely, tapping her flat stomach."So...when is Jisoo coming?"

"Oh, in about an hour.”, Lisa said, taking of her own leather jacket off and shoving it over Caesar again. At least it would cover up how much he was winking since Rosé entered the apartment. “ The WIFI is "LISASWAG", all caps. I have some work left over from the morning, so I'll be in the kitch-my workroom.", Lisa quickly corrected herself.

"Can I see?", Rosé asked, tilting her head. "Your workroom?"

"Hey, I said I was not looking for an..."

"I know, you were looking for a date.", she answered, hands on her front as if in defeat. She got up from the couch, slightly brushing off a few crystals that stuck into her skirt. They twinkled in the setting sun and pounced to the floor. She didn’t seem too bothered by it. "But we have an hour. Please?"

Lisa pursed her lips.

Excited at the prospect of spending more time with her, but not too keen on letting her see the devastating state of her kitchen, she didn't know what to answer.

“Don’t you want to listen to the radio instead?”, she asked, trying for a wide smile.

“Can I? It’s so cute.”, Rosé said, going over to the wood chair on the corner with her little red radio, taking out the antenna and turning it on on her hands. She seemed like an excited child. Frank Sinatra started singing, and she smiled, swaying and tapping her feet to the beat. The little schoolgirl shirt rode up a little on her slim thighs. “This is nice. You have good taste, you know?”

Lisa was only able to nod, blushing, sitting down on her armchair, scooping Leo from the dark walls into her arms for safety. The little rascal purred loudly, unaware of the inner turmoil of his owner.

Now that they were both in her house, what should she do? Entertain Rosé?

She turned slightly to see what the girl was doing but she was sat down on the couch, hands on her knees, bobbing her head and looking so comfortable, eyes closed. She then opened one eye, and smirked at Lisa.

“Are you nervous? I know already it’s not a date. It’s not flirting anymore.”, she said, rolling her eyes dramatically.

“Oh, so you were flirting before?”, Lisa asked.

She dropped Leo on the floor. He started meowing loudly, begging to be let up back again.

“There’s no need to lie.”, Rosé answered simply. “Of course I was interested, look at you.”

Lisa looked down at herself. Her socks had little ducks printed on them, and Leo was scratching her already torn jeans desperately.

“...Jisoo will be here in an hour still.”, she said then.

“Nice. We can know each other better.”, Rosé smiled, and somehow, Lisa felt as if the girl was back flirting again. There was something in her eye smile, the way the corners of her mouth lifted up. It spelt trouble.

“As friends?”, Lisa said quickly. “Erm, I have some work to do, but feel free to look around, I have tons of books you can…”

“Can I watch?”, she asked again. Again, she didn’t look like she would be upset if Lisa said no, but somehow, she didn’t actually want to say no to her.

Ever, maybe.

“Watch me...make a wart removing potion?”, Lisa asked, scratching her neck. She always worked alone. The working table wasn’t even clean.

It was never once clean. Rosé didn’t need to know the way she lived.

“Of course. I wanted to become your apprentice, but since you don’t want one, I should at least have a look. For my troubles.”, she answered, as if it was the most obvious thing. “You made me come all the way here.”

“For your troubles.”, Lisa repeated, dazed, nodding slowly.

Rosé looked even more like a princess sitting in her messy living room, somehow more beautiful between Lisa’s books, plants and crystals. The little damned fern tried to mess up her hair again, and Lisa promised herself she would trim it later. It was getting too big and cocky for her taste.

“Please? Cass told me wonders about your potion work, especially the skincare ones.“, she pleaded, hands together as if praying to her. Lisa breathed in deeply, but defeated, nodded at her.

“You’re funny.”, Lisa said as Rosé punched the air in victory. “Just don’t judge my methods. Or my worktable.”, she said, leading the girl over to her kitchen/workspace/office. Rosé fell in step eagerly behind her, probably expecting a beautiful lab, with all the newest equipment.

Lisa stood at the door, and sighed deeply, hands on her waist.

There was no way Rosé would think of her as a respectable member of society now.

She couldn’t even spell the whole place clean, since there were all sorts of sensitive materials lying around

(a jar of newt eyes had all of its little eyes turning at her, judging).

The main dining table had several jars of varying sizes, some labeled, some don’t, filled with all kinds of powders and serums and animal parts. The chemical instruments were all filled with liquids, some fizzing and bubbling, some swaying with an invisible breeze inside twirling glass straws. The dried plants hung off the ceiling, dropping paper-thin flowers all over the floor. They crinkled as Lisa got inside, followed by Rosé, making tiny popping sounds and bursts of light. The cupboards were completely overflowing, and she wasn’t going to comment on the state of her cabinets. There was a little cloud of eternal rain on a corner, were a little colony of mushrooms grew happily.

Whew.

“It smells interesting in here.”, Rosé said simply, gently pushing a bowl filled with live fish away with her foot, sitting in a high stool Lisa didn’t even know was there.

“Sorry, I’m already used to it, but I guess it should smell a little funky.”, Lisa explained, laughing weakly.

“It kind of smells like an old supermarket.”, she said, smiling. She had her hands under her thighs, as if she didn’t want to touch anything by accident. She swung her legs back and forth excitedly. “So, a wart potion?”

“Yeah, yeah.”, Lisa said, coming back to Earth. She looked around her materials, spotting quickly an open jam jar filled with gelatinous little seeds. Just because it was messy, it didn’t mean she didn’t know exactly where everything was. She poked the ingredient, nodding to herself when the little seeds were hard and cold still.

“It’s pretty basic, since I mostly use these flesh-eating seedlings, but it’s a bit tricky since they all tend to stick together and you can’t have more than one at a time on your wart. “, she said, scooping a spoonful into a rusty cast iron skillet. “Oh, damn.” , she cursed. “Can you get me the brown powder to your right? No the, other right, careful. That one bites.”

Rosé handed over the supermarket bag filled with what seemed to be dirt. Lisa sprinkled a bit over the seeds on the skillet, making them shine for a second. She poked them with her finger again. They were a bit old, since she forgot to seal the jam jar, but it was probably going to work fine. She may not have the prettiest workroom, but her products were top-notch.

“Did this need to be in a supermarket bag? It doesn’t seem very safe.”, Rosé said, putting it carefully back on the shelf.

“Probably not, but I ran out of jars last month. Plastic bags do the trick till I buy more jam. “

Lisa looked around for her silver chopsticks. They would be the best thing to work with the seeds, since they wouldn’t interact much with the magic. Now she just needed to boil a bit of water.

She walked over to the sink, skillet in hand. There was a huge copper basin filled with wiggling purple tentacles. They wiggled, as if greeting her.

“Oh, damn, I forgot I put those in here.”, she murmured. She eyed the little fish bowl by Rosé’s feet for a second. She wore black polka dotted thighs socks, Lisa noticed. “As I said, you can't judge me.”, she said, crouching down and scooping a bit of water into the skillet with a flick of her fingers. The fish swam desperately to the bottom of the bowl as to not get swooped in the skillet as well. She looked up at Rosé and winked, doing a finger gun with her free hand.

“I’m wondering if I should report you.”, Rosé said, pursing her lips.

“Never heard any complaints from my customers. The water in the bowl is charmed to keep itself cleaner than tap water.”, she explained, putting the skillet over her single burner oven. She tapped the knob with her pointer finger and a green flame rose up, quickly making the water boil. It thickened up quickly, thankfully turning the desired blood red color.

“Only the best for your fish and your clients. What about the little quartz fountain in the living room?”

“Of course. I bought that quartz bowl because I liked its vibrations and it was on sale.”, Lisa answered. “Oh shit, my chopsticks!”, she yelled, running around looking for them. They were under the dining table, covered in dust. She blew on them quickly, running back to the fire, stirring the skillet. Some seeds stuck to the bottom, glued together and burnt. She sighed, stirring the ones that were fine. She could still save most of the potion.

“Are these supposed to lump together?”, Rosé asked from her chair. Lisa looked back to the skillet, seeing that all her seeds were glued together now. She sighed, throwing it all in another plastic bag and dropping it on the floor, where it made a sad plopping noise.

“Thank Hecate these are quick to make.”, Lisa said, rolling her eyes.

“Why don’t you powder the seeds a bit? So they don’t stick together?”, Rosé asked, tilting her head. She passed her the plastic bag filled with dirt.

“What?”, Lisa asked, filling her skillet with the fishbowl water again.

“Since they seem to stick and have some type of fiber content, they sink to the bottom of the pan and burn pretty quickly. Can’t you cover them in flour? And you should wash the skillet before trying that again.”, she explained, pointing warily at Lisa’s trusty cast iron baby.

“What did you study again?”, Lisa asked, snapping her fingers and cleaning the skillet till it was shining. It had some pretty old crusts, since it was so easy to clean that she never bothered to.

“Food engineering.”, she replied brightly. “Then I went to France for a culinary course. So, are you rolling them in flour? I can help you.”

Lisa looked around the kitchen, checking her watch and seeing she had 40 minutes till the old lady that had a friend with a huge wart on her nose knocked on her door to get her potion. If the seeds burned again, she would be in trouble

. And she still had to make some hangover cures.

“Why?”, she asked. “Not that I’m not thankful, but…”

“I have nothing else to do until I can kick Jisoo’s ass.”, she said, shrugging. “Don’t want to watch Youtube in the living room while you suffer alone in here, either.”

“...Then, sure?”, she found herself saying. “I have another potion to work on, so can you roll them? You turn on the fire on the highest setting to seal the active components in the seeds and mix them thoroughly until the water turns into dark gel, then just send a little electric shock into them and they should turn translucent.”, she explained quickly, already moving over and grabbing other bags and powders into a cauldron. “Just enough energy to make a small noise, we don’t want anyone having a heart attack, I’m not a Healer.”

“I can do that!”, Rosé said. “You have rice flour? Since it’s magically neutral. And tasteless, mostly. I saw your chopsticks and figured you’re pretty careful with that?”

“The would be great. The flour is under the bat wings, by that cupboard.”

“Thanks.”, Rosé said. “You should tie your hair.”, she added off-handedly, as she took a bowl and filled it with white rice flour. Where did she even find a clean bowl?

“What?”, Lisa said, stirring her pot with her index finger. Rosé was kind of too close to her, both of them in the cramped kitchen, sharing the table. At least Lisa could keep an eye on her.

“A strand could fall onto the potion, you have pretty long hair.”, she said, rolling the seeds around in the flour. In the single stove, the water was already boiling. “All sorts of interactions could happen, since your magic looks pretty strong.”, she added offhandedly.

Lisa only stared back at her, eyes wide.

“Why are you already boiling the water?”, Lisa asked.

“You said the high temperature was to seal the seeds, so it should work better if you add them when the water’s already boiling. You should use more water when dealing with items that thicken, or else you’re going to end up with a hard lump of seeds.”, Rosé said.

“I have an elastic, if you want.”, she added, taking off one of her thin wrist and giving it to Lisa.

It had a little pink bunny on it.Lisa smiled in thanks, going back to her work with a neat low bun on her head now.

They worked side to side in a nice kind of almost silence, since Rosé was singing softly, under her breath as she stirred the seeds efficiently. She had a grace Lisa didn’t think she herself had when working. It could be her culinary practice, she guessed. Maybe the fields had the muscle memory in common, at least.

In the living room, Sinatra kept singing in low tones, but it was hard to listen when such a lovely girl was humming for her live, close enough that Lisa swore she felt her body heat.

When Lisa asked for an ingredient, Rosé made sure to get it for her, and their hands brushed several times as they worked. Not that she was keeping note of any of that.

Since the potion was water based, a lot of vapour got on Rosé’s face, making her skin glisten and a few strands to escape the neat braid she did on herself. She looked good next to the fire, concentrated and poised. Somehow they started talking about music, and it turned out Rosé (to no one’s surprise) used to want to be a singer.

“I mean, I still compose sometimes, but I prefer working with my hands?”, she explained, frowning. “Of course you can help people with music, but food is different. It has a special place in my heart.”

“I understand. I dance as well, but helping people with my potions is more rewarding to me. Of course, I still dance to keep myself sane.”, Lisa added, laughing.

“You do?”, she asked, eyes round with surprise. “You should show me sometime!”

“If you show me your songs…”, Lisa said, laughing. “Then I’ll show you my moves.”

“ Cooking is great, but sometimes I just need to unwind and listen to music to really feel like I’m myself again.”

Lisa nodded, and they both turned back to their work. She turned from time to time to check on Rosé, but she was doing everything perfectly.

“Done!”, she said suddenly, showing Lisa the wart removing potion, eyes bright and proud.

Lisa checked the consistency, and applied to the skin of her own wrist. It absorbed quicker than the ones she did by herself. She did a mental note to always boil the water first.

“It looks great. Thanks for helping.”, Lisa said honestly. The girl was pretty smart, she had to admit. Maybe it would be nice to have her as an apprentice.

“Thank you. I didn’t know there was a cream that could remove warts. And it smells good too.”, Rosé said, sniffing the cream.

“It doubles up as a moisturizer. And you didn’t know because it’s a recipe registered under my name.”, she explained proudly. “No one but me can make it.”

“...But you let me do it?”, Rosé asked, mouth dropping open. “Should I pay you or something?”

“Of course not, you helped me. And now I got a headstart on my other work too.”, she said, eyeing her hangover cure. She could put it in the fridge and finish it later. “You want a soda or something? Jisoo should arrive soon.”

“Do you have actual water or should I drink straight from the fishbowl?”, Rosé teased, that eye smile back again. “Or the “good vibes” quartz bowl in the living room?”

Lisa filled a tall glass with water from the fridge, waved at the frozen basilisk eggs near the chicken eggs (another mental note not to mix them up in the morning), waved it closed.

She stared at the glass for a second, and made it freezing cold with a quick spell only to spite the other girl. She got herself a coke and they both made their way back to the living room, where the air was fresher and there weren't dead animal scales littering the ground. Rosé sighed, plopping next to Lisa on the sofa, sipping her water.

“Ahh, this is great.”, Rosé said, stretching, crossing her legs. She hummed “Fly me to the Moon”, undoing her side braid absent-mindedly. Her hair went to her waist, soft and lightly curled, smelling like honey and lavender.

Lisa breathed it in, gathering courage. Usually she followed her instincts, and something said that was a great idea. Rosé was a great idea.

“So...while we were working, I was thinking...I mean, I think we got along pretty well just now.”

“Yes, we did.”, she agreed, setting her water down on the coffee table, turning to Lisa. She was smiling now.

“Would you like to…”, Lisa stopped, suddenly feeling shy. She had already rejected her, would she want the job back again? But Rosé looked at her, all puppy like, like she hung the sun and the stars in the sky. She was a fan of her work for sure. She played with her own fingers, then looked at Rosé in the eyes.

“Want to…?”, Rosé repeated softly, eyebrows raising. Her index finger twirled her hair a little bit faster. “Really?”

“Yeah, I mean, you seem great.”, Lisa said.

Rosé blushed a lovely shade of pink, her cute chubby cheeks puffing up. Her smiles could light up a whole room.

“Am I reading this wrong? You’re asking me…”

“...To be my apprentice, yes.”, Lisa said, smiling.

“Oh, wow.”

Rosé actually seemed to deflate like a popped balloon. The fern that was slowly coming down to play with her hair curled up again into its hanging vase.

“Apprentice?”, she asked, frowning. There was a cute little line of worry between her eyebrows, and maybe Lisa wanted to press her fingers to it, kiss it away or maybe...

“Do you not want to? I mean, you were interested before, right? When I thought you were…”, she stopped, blushing. “Looking for a date.”

“So, let me get this clear: you’re not asking me out, you’re asking me to be your apprentice?”, Rosé repeated, lips pursed. She nodded to herself, as if she was making sense of something very complicated.

“As I said, it’s just an offer, if you don’t….”

“Of course I want to! I was expecting for you to say something else, so I was surprised.”, she said quickly. She smiled again, but somehow it wasn’t as bright. She laughed a bit, eyes lost on the floor.

There was a moment of silence where Lisa seriously considered if, for the first time in her life, her instincts failed her.

Someone knocked on the door. Lisa was quick to go get it.

“Oh, hello, Mrs. Lee.”, she said, bowing to the old lady. “I’ll get your cream in a second.”

Mrs. Lee, old and smiling, nodded, giving Lisa a jar of peach compote and a few crumpled notes as thanks. Lisa got them both and quickly went to her workshop.

The cream was put inside a cute little squirrel bottle. It seemed like it used to be a perfume bottle, and now the sink smelled strangely of lavender, the tentacle monster wiggling (happiness? discomfort? ). She got back, and Rosé and Mrs. Lee were chattering together like two old ladies that met in the street. Rosé had a candy wrapper on her hands, and her cheek was bulging strangely as she nodded to something Mrs. Lee was telling her.

“So you shouldn’t let her overwork herself.”, Mrs. Lee said, stopping when she saw Lisa coming. “Thank you so much. My friend will love these.”

“It’s nothing, Mrs. Lee. Thank you so much for the peaches.”

“Treat your girl better, Lisa! She won’t stay around if you keep your kitchen in that sorry state!”, the old lady yelled as she got out. Mrs. Lee was a sweetheart, but a little bit deaf already.

Lisa closed the door, looking at Rosé.

“Did you trash talk my workspace to Mrs. Lee?”, she asked, crossing her arms.

“You have to admit you work in unsafe conditions.”, Rosé said, shrugging.

“You agreed to work in those unsafe conditions just now!”, Lisa yelled, throwing a pillow at her. Rosé just laughed, trying to protect herself. “You’re lucky my code of honor stops me from hexing my apprentices.”

“Ohh, I’m so lucky.”, Rosé said, a hand over her face like a fainting damsel in distress. “Please, give me a sip of fish water, ooh genius potioneer.”

“That’s so disrespectful.”, Lisa said, but she felt her cheeks heat up.

They stared at each other, giddy with the possibilities. The front door bell rang again.

“That must be Jisoo. Get your wands out.”, Lisa said jokingly as the wards automatically let Jisoo inside.

“Hello, beautiful!”, Jisoo smiled, hugging Lisa tightly. Then she looked behind her and her smile turned mischievous. “Oh, I see you and Rosé got along nicely.”, she said, putting a finger over her lips.

Lisa looked behind her just in time to see Rosé getting her wand out, smiling just as pretty as she did when they first met, getting inside the coffee shop. Then she mumbled something and Jisoo was suddenly shrinking, her yellow and black cardigan falling over her black dress into a pile on top of her shoes.

Lisa grabbed the pile quickly on her arms, shutting the door and closing it.

“I hope you haven’t killed her.”, she said, putting the pile on her sofa. There was a frilly lace panty inside. At least someone was getting lucky later. “She’s a pain sometimes but I love her.”

“It’s fine. She’s under her clothes, take a look.”, Rosé said, putting the wand back into her skirt pocket. “Also, she had that coming. Made me look like a fool in front of you enough times.”

“What?”, Lisa asked, laughing. She grabbed the black and yellow cardigan, putting in on herself instead. Under it there was a little hummingbird, flapping its wings and looking at both of them with a lot more indignation than a hummingbird should be able to. It burrowed deeper into Jisoo’s dress, seeming to make a nest in the expensive piece of clothing. Only its little head poked out, shining prettily in the late afternoon light, shimmering pink and dark purple. Just like her dyed hair, Lisa noted, poking the little bird’s head with her pinky. It chirped miserably, as both of the girls cackled.

“For a second I thought you had banished her somewhere. “, Lisa said, scooping Jisoo into her hands and letting her rest on her shoulder. “It’s bad that I kinda like her like this?”

“Calm down, she can hear you.”, Rosé said, giggling and covering her laugh with her hands. It wasn’t anything serious, but Lisa was actually getting attached a little bit to that carefree smile. Made her want to keep being silly, only to make her keep smiling.

“And I can talk, you idiots.”, came a little voice by Lisa’s shoulder. Lisa shrieked, slapping the little bird on her shoulder, but Jisoo was already flying away, stopping on top of a spinning globe on the coffee table, perching on top of the Sovietic Republic, pecking at the peeling paint on it.

It was an old globe.

Rosé stared at her, then at Jisoo, back at her, then burst into hiccupping laughs, hands on her knees. Lisa couldn’t help but follow along, seeing the little hummingbird Jisoo flopping around on the globe.

“So, are you done laughing or will you turn me back?”, Jisoo asked, tilting its little bird head as if she still was human. “I bought groceries, but since I’m a bird now, you need to get them.”

“Really? Oh, thank, Jisoo!” Lisa said, whopping and opening her apartment door again, getting the paper bags filled with fresh fruits and vegetables, as well as several packs of instant noodles. “You’re a lifesaver.”

“You don’t buy your own groceries?”, Rosé asked, frowning at seeing Lisa coming in with two handfuls of goods.

Lisa shrugged at her, going into the kitchen. She quickly stored everything into the old fridge and on top of her only clean fruit bowl and went back into the living-room, where Rosé was sat down on the sofa with Jisoo on her pointer finger looking as if she came straight from a fairy tale. They were both whispering furiously, Jisoo keeping her wings in front of her beak while Rosé had her hands in front of her mouth. Upon seeing her arrival, though, Rosé stopped, smiling brightly at her.

“Talking about me?”, Lisa asked, plopping into the armchair, legs spread. “I would offer you guys something to drink, but I drank the last coke and Jisoo probably can only drink sugar water now.”

“We’re fine. I’m getting out of here as soon as I turn human and beautiful again.”, Jisoo said, shaking her tiny head. It would be a beautiful moment if she still had her freshly dyed purple hair. Rosé cooed at her, poking her little bird face.

“Ohh, you are still beautiful, Jisoo.”

“Shut up, you could turn me human right now, disrespectful girl.”, Jisoo said, flying to the top of the bookcases. “I’m older than you both and you treat me like this!”, she yelled in a tiny high pitched voice.

Lisa caught Rosé’s gaze, and they both rolled their eyes, smiling. Rosé grabbed a little ping pong ball from the depths of the ragged yellow sofa, tossing it at Jisoo in the bookcase, making her fly away, shrieking.

“That’s for making me think this was going to be a job interview!”, Rosé yelled. “Be thankful this ball is not an ashtray, Jisoo!”

“Oh, calm down, you’re so dramatic! I knew you would never come if you thought it was a blind date!”, Jisoo said, flying in the middle of the room. “By the way,how did it go? Feel any spark?”

Again, Lisa wondered how a hummingbird was able to look so smug without even having a proper mouth to smirk. She buried her face into her own hands, letting her dark hair fall on a curtain on top of her.

“Wait, so it was a date?”, she heard Rosé ask, voice high. Then she screamed. “I was never so humiliated in my life!”

“Wait, you were not the humiliated one!”, Lisa said, raising her head. Rosé was holding Jisoo in her hands as if she was about to choke the little bird. “No killing in my living room! This is a sacred place I use for my morning pilates!”

“Wait, you do pilates? I do it too!”, Rosé turned, seemingly forgetting the choking little bird on her hands. “Ooops, sorry, Jisoo.”

Jisoo flew away from the both of them, yelling.

“If this is how you two flirt, leave me out of it!”, she said, breathless. “Lisa, if you’d be so kind as to fetch me sugared water from the kitchen, I think I’m going to pass out.”

“Oh, okay.”

When Lisa came back from the kitchen (where she struggled to find an unused bottle cap, took water from the fish bowl and almost died getting a sugar cube), Rosé was sitting on the sofa, arms crossed, Jisoo on top of her head. Both of them seemed displeased.

“What happened while I was out? “, Lisa asked, smiling. Even though both of them seemed mad, the scene was really cute. Rosé with her puffed red cheeks, Jisoo looking like the angriest hummingbird to ever exist, messing up Rosé’s perfect hair.

“Rosé is very stupid.”

“Well, let me tell you, Jisoo is very stupid.”, Rosé added, face scrunching up.

“Well, I think Jisoo owes me an explanation.”, Lisa said, crossing her arms. “But it’s not nice turning people into birds, Rosé.”

“Whatever.”, Rosé said, taking Jisoo out of the top of her head. “See if I help you with your lines next time, Jisoo.”

“You wouldn’t”, Jisoo said, a wing in her chest like she was mortally wounded. “I would have to use Lisa as a stand in, and she reads like a robot.”

“Korean is not my first language, you know!”, Lisa snapped, blowing a raspberry into the little bird, who tumbled out of the couch and into the floor. “See if I make you an aloe nightshade cleanser next time you have a pimple before show night!”

“Everyone is really angry at me.”, Jisoo said miserably from the floor. “And I’m a bird and just wanted my two dear friends to be together.”

“I mean, it kind of worked in the end.”, Lisa said, anger suddenly gone. Maybe Jisoo didn’t deserve such harsh treatment.

“So you are going on another date?”, Jisoo asked, perking up.

“No, I’m working for her. Starting next week.”, Rosé said, showing Jisoo her tongue in the end.

“What? That’s crazy. You cheated in Potions to pass!”, Jisoo said.

“I cheated from YOUR cheatsheet, stupid!”, Rosé retorted. “I’m going to kick you out of this apartment, see if you can fly from the fourth floor down.”

“Again, everybody is very angry at me when I’m so cute and charming and pretty.”, Jisoo sighed. Then, in a cloud of purple smoke and glitter, a very naked Jisoo was sat down in the middle of Lisa’s living room.

Jisoo sighed, looking at Liana, then Lisa.

“Pass me my Unif dress, that’s more expensive than my tuition.”, she said, covering her body with her arms. “I can’t believe all my friends have seen me naked now.”, she said, shoving her head on top of the dress, taking her cardigan out of a protesting Lisa.

“But it looks so good on me!”, she pouted at her friend, hoping Jisoo would let her keep it. She thought she looked good, looking like a bee in the little checkered black and yellow thing.

“Sorry, can’t. The dress and the cardigan need to match.”, Jisoo said, as they both fought over it. “Unless you pay me for it.”, she offered, raising an eyebrow.

“Urgh, sorry I’m not swimming in money like you and Jennie.”, Lisa said, dropping the cardigan. Jisoo put it on, effortlessly flipping her hair and looking straight out of a commercial, even though she was a hummingbird two minutes ago.

Rosé giggled from the sofa. Lisa turned to her, blushing, then looked back at Jisoo. The girl only stared back, smiling knowingly.

“How did you two even meet?”, Rosé asked, crossing her legs on the sofa. The little polka dot thigh high she was wearing stretched a bit, and there was a spot where the lining was tearing a little in the inner thigh. Lisa found herself fixated in that little stray string of fabric.

Jisoo poked her in the ribs, making her go back to reality.

“Oh, how? Uh, I choreographed in a play she was doing a few years ago.”, Lisa said, smiling at the memory. “She didn’t know a thing about dancing, but tried really hard.”

“And was the prettiest, funniest, most talented senior you had ever seen.”, Jisoo added, blowing Lisa a little kiss. “This little devil ran me ragged, she knows only perfection.”

“What’s the point of choreographing if you can’t do what you’re supposed to do?”, Lisa asked innocently.

“I won’t comment on my dark dance past. Thank gods I only act and model now.”, Jisoo said, blinking prettily. Actually, everything she did was pretty. The girl was a goddess, maybe.

“I kind of miss your singing voice, Jisoo.”, Rosé said suddenly. “I would grab my guitar and we would sing until the neighbours threatened to call the police, remember?”

Jisoo smiled, ruffling Liana’s hair even more.

“Of course I miss our late night duets, sweetie.”

“Were you neighbours or something?”

“Roomates for a little while, until she decided to drop everything and went to Paris.”, Jisoo said.

Rosé raised her hand, a “guilty as charged “ look on her face.

A nice silence fell over the three girls in the living room, as they all saw the sun set behind the buildings slowly from the wide window Lisa insisted she had.The room was bathed in purple now, and Lisa thought they all looked very lovely in the subtle light, but specially Rosé. Jisoo opened her mouth, tucking a strand of silky purple hair behind her ear.

“I was so lonely, but then I met you.”, she said, looking straight at Jisoo with fondness in her eyes. “And I thought you really suited each other. My magic says so.”

“Well, thanks.”, Rosé said, looking down. Lisa felt herself blush.

She thought Jisoo only played matchmaker because of boredom or a need for mischief, but to think she waited until Rosé was back from France to get them to meet because her magic said so was almost sweet, in a sense.

It didn’t necessarily mean they were meant to be soulmates, but Lisa was glad someone else felt it too.

Her eyes met Rosé’s across the living room, and she thought she wasn’t the only one who thought so.

Both looked away at the same time.

“Well, my work here is done.”, Jisoo said suddenly, getting up and putting on her boots. “We should hang out together sometime, I think Jennie is going to throw a party sometime next month.”

“Count me in.”, Lisa said, doing finger guns at her.

“Ah...I’ll check my schedule? I still need to unpack and look for my own place, so things’ll be a little crazy until I settle back in.”, Rosé said sheepishly. “But I’d love to!”

Lisa’s mind went back to the little storage room she had down the corridor, next to her own bedroom, but said nothing.

“Where is my damn Gucci bag!”, Jisoo interrupted, crouching down and getting her bag. “Ok, now I’m ready to go. Wait. My panties”, she added, laughing and getting them from the floor.

Rosé got up as well.

“Uh...I should go as well, it’s dark already…”

“Wait.”, Lisa said, grabbing Rosé’s hand as she followed Jisoo out of the door. Both stared at their hands for a second too long, then looked up. Rosé was blushing again. “Do you have a place to stay?”

“Yeah, right now I’m...staying at my mom’s…”, she said slowly. “I’ll be fine, see you on Monday?”, she asked, tilting her head. From behind her, Lisa could see Jisoo giving her a thumbs up, nodding and smiling.

“Yeah, of course!”, she said then, hugging Jisoo quickly and then, after a beat of terse stillness, hugged Rosé as well before they left. The door closed, goodbyes said, and Lisa was alone in her apartment once more, a faint smell of lavender in the room and her cats meowing for attention.


	2. Chapter 2

Being magical in a world were most people weren’t was a bittersweet type of loneliness. Since Lisa was young, she knew she was different and had to keep her secret safe at the cost of lying.

Born from a witch mother and a human father meant that her childhood was mostly normal, and she got the chance to play with other kids and be happy. But even though she could go to the park with anyone else and play on the swings like all four-year olds, she soon learnt she wasn’t allowed to truly be herself unless she was with just her mother or alone. She shouldn’t let her magic out, transfigure her nose into an elephant trunk even though it was funny, and she couldn’t share her mother’s special medicine even though her friends scraped their knees. Soon that translated to just being at home, where it was safe and no one stared or thought she was weird. That and her talent for potions made her stay most of her free time in her makeshift lab when she wasn’t at school or at her apprenticeship. The only exception being her dancing classes, she didn’t really mix with anyone until college, where she started her Potion store properly and took some business classes. Jennie and Jisoo were the only exceptions, and that was mostly because they were too stubborn to quit being her friends.

Lisa was comfortable being alone, with her two best friends and her cats and the messy apartment. It was small, and it was enough. Or at least she thought that.

Waiting for the week to end, and for Rosé to come knocking on her door on Monday was slow torture. Lisa did the usual, went to her dance class on Sunday and even took the rest of the day to water the plants and do laundry. Her living room probably never looked better, and she put a few protection spells around the kitchen just to make sure Rosé wouldn’t get maimed or killed on the first day. The whole place smelled fresher, now that she aired everything out. Even her cats were weirded out.

“Ok, Luca, please calm down, I’m not leaving!”, she whined, gently pushing the cat away from her with her leg. She was carrying a cardboard box filled with their old, unused toys, the one that smelled stale and had too many bite marks on them. He meowed loudly and left, only to come back with all the other, staring at her like she was killing and abandoning them. “This is a mutiny!”, she said, dropping the box on the floor again.

Her cleanup would have to wait a bit, because Lily had found her old squeaky pig toy and obviously they all needed to play.

The next monday Rosé arrived ten minutes earlier, which meant Lisa opened the door to her apartment in her pilates attire, still sweaty from her morning workout, running on endorphins and sweat. Lisa giggled at the ridiculousness of the situation, too out of breath to even say anything yet. She wasn't going to stop embarrassing herself in front of Rosé so soon.

The other girl had an expensive looking brown overcoat covering her, and her hair was prettily done in a half ponytail, like a medieval princess. She looked way too radiant for an early morning. Lisa was just glad she was already red and sweating, so she couldn’t embarrass herself even further.

“Hello, good morning!”, Lisa said slightly out of breath, giving Rosé space to get in, away from the chill from the corridor. “I was just going to shower really quick, so feel free to wait in the living room or in the kitchen, please.”

Both stared at each other for a second, Lisa screaming internally for opening the door in her state. She should have pretended to be asleep and taken a proper shower, maybe. The image of the cool, collected witch was already slipping through her fingers, and it wasn’t good to have an apprentice without a little respect.

Suddenly the shorts and crop top ensemble she was using looked very raggedy. Rosé wasn’t taking her eyes off of her, blushing slightly.

“Oh, okay, thank you.”, Rosé said after a few seconds of silence, stepping inside. Her eyes flitted up and down again, quickly. Thankfully she didn’t mention the outfit. “It’s really cold out.”, she added conversationally, taking out her overcoat and letting Caesar, the statue, hold it. “I’ll take these to the kitchen.”, she motioned to the bags on her hands.

“Oh, I get really hot when I exercise.”, Lisa said, clutching her own exposed stomach.“I’ll be back soon.”

Lisa took the quickest shower of her life and was back to the kitchen with her hair still dripping, white fluffy towel on her shoulders. Steam was still coming off of her in the early morning air.

“So, I was thinking of showing you around today, laying a few ground rules about your apprenticeship, since we didn’t actually sign anything.”, Lisa said, as Rosé was organizing something on the small free space of the countertop.”What are those?”, she asked, pointing at the bags.

“These?”, Rosé asked, blinking innocently. “These are for later. I brought some stuff.”

“Ah, nice.”, Lisa said, trying to look at what was inside the bags. Rosé stepped forward.

“Show me around, please.”, she said sweetly, hands behind her as if she was in a museum.

“Yes, yes.”, Lisa said. “So, this is my main workroom, where I keep most of the active ingredients. I have a spare room with a few other items I buy or make in bulk, but you shouldn’t come in there since all the things I normally use are here already.”, she said, making a vague gesture to all of the kitchen, the little things hanging from the ceiling, piled over each other on the floor and overflowing from the cupboards. “I’m very busy usually, so I don’t have much time to organize, so I hope you learn your way around if you want this job.”

Rosé nodded, seeming to take note of everything. Lisa showed where most of the ingredients were hidden or stored, the things she absolutely must not touch, and how she was supposed to work.

“So, I’ll teach you as I go about my day, since I make around seven to ten potions in a good one. Most are pretty easy, and those I hope you’re able to do some alone after I show you how. Besides that, I would need you to do the work that can’t be done with magic and the cleaning afterward.”, she finished. “I think I’m pretty flexible with timetables, just text me when you’re coming and when you’re not, and you can help yourself to my fridge to bring your own lunch or make it with what I have. Um...any questions?”

“Just two. “, she said scribbling on her notepad. “How do you feel about me being Jisoo’s friend? I mean, you’re treating me pretty informally, but shouldn’t…?”

“Oh, that’s just the way I am.”, Lisa explained. “We can treat each other as coworkers? I mean, I know I know a lot more than you do, but I don’t like having to keep a straight face and boss you around. I am strict when I need to be, but there’s no need to call me Ms. or anything. We are the same age, right?”

Rosé nodded, seeming to relax.

“Yeah, that’s great.”, she said, smiling softly. “Last question: can I clean up your kitchen at some point?”

Lisa’s hand slipped from the table, almost making herself fall face first into it.

“W-what?”

“I mean, you’re the best in the field, I’m really honored you are interested in letting me work for you, but this is not a proper working situation.”

Lisa looked around her kitchen. She wasn’t wrong, but maybe it hurt her pride a little bit.

“I’m thinking about throwing some stuff out, making a few more cupboards, labeling and storing everything properly, as well as a full cleaning and disinfecting. Today I had a nightmare about your mushroom corner.”

Lisa breathed in deeply, supporting herself in the counter. Some changes were for the better, right? And it would be great if she could actually walk around without having to dodge deadly spores. She nodded.

“You can’t do it while I’m in the house. But yeah, feel free. Just tell me the day I should leave.”

“What? So easy? Why?”, she asked, eyes wide. But she seemed pleased, and Lisa wondered what would have happened if she had said no.

“I know it doesn’t look good to strangers, but it’s too big of a workload and I’m usually busy with other things. So feel free. But I don’t want to watch you doing it, or else I’ll try to stop you.”

“Oh.”, Rosé exhaled, smiling wider. “I’m glad.”

“Really?’, Lisa looked around her. “It’s not even that bad.”

Rosé laughed, a little high-pitched, and reached into her shopping bags. She took out some dishtowels, soap and bleach. Lisa only stared in disbelief.

“I’ll start bringing the cleaning supplies in parts, since I can’t carry them all. When everything is here, it should take me about a weekend to get this in top condition.”

Lisa found herself nodding. Now, just one more last thing.

“Are you fine with blood? I could make the usual human contract, but this one has some clauses on releasing my secrets and client list, so it’s safer. For you, as well. ”, she said, taking out a piece of parchment and her ceremonial dagger out of her old college binder. The old whale bone was a bit dull, but she hoped it cut as well as it did before.

“Sure.”, Rosé nodded. “A bit old-fashioned, but ok.”, she said, eyeing the dagger with interest. Lisa let her, since she was almost proud of the old thing.

Carved it herself and everything. “Haven’t seen one of those since my cousin got married.”

Sometimes, the old ways were the best. How else could she be sure nothing would get out of her apartment? It wasn’t as if she didn’t trust Rosé, but the contract actually protected them both of outside influence. And it wasn’t as if Lisa hadn’t made some nasty enemies and rival potion businesses on her years.

Rosé was reading through what Lisa had already sketched the night before. She had the time to stare at her for a little bit, at the small pout of concentration, and her lashes fluttering as she read the whole thing thoughtfully. Today, she had a light shimmer on her lids, and a few gemstones just above her eyebrow. It matched her fairy-like appearance perfectly, and Lisa was again taken aback on how pretty she actually was.

“It’s all pretty reasonable.”, Rosé commented after a few minutes. “The bakery I work for had harsher conditions on their contract.”, she added, quickly taking raising the cuffs of her shirt and ripping a gash through the palm of her hand with Lisa’s dagger. She didn’t even flinch.

Lisa held her breath, eyeing the dark, thick liquid that started flowing down on Rosé’s white shirt.

She quickly pressed her bleeding hand on the edge of the parchment, where it shone blinding gold for a few seconds. Lisa shut her eyes, surprised.

“Pretty strong magic, I see.”, she said when the blinding light had stopped.

It wasn’t unusual for someone’s magic to light up a bit when signing a contract, but it almost felt as if the sun was with them in the kitchen for a few seconds. Rosé was blushing a bit, waving her hand, healed and scarless.

“Strong, but not really useful. Annoying, really. My mom says my aura is too bright.”, she explained. “Another reason I got into culinary, instead of curse breaking or something delicate like that.”

“It was really beautiful.”, Lisa said off-handedly, already slicing up her own hand, trying not to wince at the sharp pain. Her dagger seemed as sharp as always. She pressed it on the other side of the parchment, proud of the glimmer that faded after a few seconds. Confident, trustworthy, and playful, everyone usually said about her magic. Not really focused or specially strong, but good enough for potion work and innovation.

“That was pretty too.”, Rosé breathed out, still eyeing the contract.

Lisa winced, holding her bleeding hand away from herself, already searching on the cupboards for something to stop the flow.

“What are you searching for?”, Rosé asked from behind her.

“Oh, I can’t stop the bleeding by myself.”

“You CAN’T?”, Rosé yelled, coming closer and taking Lisa’s hand in hers. She was frowning. Lisa only stared back, confused. The blood on her hand dripped down slowly to the floor.

“Most half blood witches can’t? It’s fine, just let me get some bandages and I’ll be…”

“I can’t believe you cut yourself up like this, then!”, Rosé held her hand still, eyeing the large cut as if it had wronged her entire family. “Does it hurt?”, she asked in a small voice.

Lisa looked away, trying not to focus on how gently the other girl was holding her, or how soft her thumb felt, gently stroking the back of her hand.

“It’s not even that big, let me…”

“...can I?”, Rosé asked, looking at her with big pleading eyes. “I can heal your hand, if you want.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, I’ve been doing this with my sister since we were kids.”, Rosé explained softly, still holding Lisa’s hand as if it was something delicate. “Can I? It only works if you want it. Intent and all that.”

“Ah, I see.”, Lisa breathed out. “Please, do?”

“Thank you.”, Rosé smiled warmly. “Excuse me, then, it can feel a little intrusive.”

“Go ahead before I change my mind.”, Lisa said, making her laugh, and then everything went golden again, and so, so warm.

Why was Rosé so homey? Her magic flowed like an afternoon sun, and Lisa was suddenly transported to her childhood, laying on a towel on the beach, sleepy and waking up seeing everything tinted blue.

“...Done”, she heard Rosé say somewhere above her. “It didn’t feel too weird, right?”

Lisa opened her eyes, which she didn’t notice were closed in the first place. She felt happy and almost cozy, even though her hair was still wet from the shower. She stared at her own hand again, now smooth back again as if the slash didn’t happen at all. Wriggled the fingers for good measure.

“Thank you.”, she said, stepping up and giving Rosé a thumbs up.

"It would be a shame if it scarred. Your hand is beautiful.", she said simply. Lisa laughed, eyes wide, and stepped over the little blood stain on the floor.

“How about we get to work, then? Quite a few orders today.”

“Really?”, Rosé asked, perking up. “What can I help with?”

“I don’t want you dealing with any of the specially dangerous ingredients on the first day, so today it will be mostly chopping and squeezing for you, sorry.”, Lisa explained, taking out her little notebook filled with the orders of the day. They had petty basic stuff for the day, one that would take a bit longer and one she would have to travel to get the ingredients.

“Meh.”, Rosé mumbled, sticking her tongue out. “Been chopping and squeezing since my first day in cooking class.”

Lisa stepped away, crouching down under her sink and getting a basket filled to the brim with bright purple singing leeks. She got a good shipment, since most of them were still wiggling. She dropped them in front of Rosé, who only stared at the leeks, vaguely frightened.

“I need you to separate the outer, darker leaves, and dice the white core thinly. The purple bits you can throw away.”, Lisa explained, tossing Rosé a cleaver.

Rosé yelped, making it float down safely to her hands. Good reflexes. “I’m finishing some more hangover cures today, and then, if you finish in time, we can work together on the other orders.”

“Oh.”, Rosé said, eyeing the leeks on the basket. “Ok, then.”

Lisa made a heart with her hands and went into her work. It was the easy routine of one of her most popular orders, specially as the year was coming to an end. The damn hangover potions.

“Hangover” was a broad term, since it took the body back to top condition, no matter what was influencing it before, being it just alcohol to most simple poisons or drugs. Lisa didn’t take it, actually, since her charmed pendant protected her from all of that automatically. She had to take it out to even get drunk on parties.

She was finishing up on adding the dry ingredients on her copper pestle when Rosé called out:

“Finished!”, cheerfully.

Lisa turned away from her pestle, towel dropping from her shoulders as she did so. Rosé was holding a bowl with perfectly sliced leek cores, next to a trash bag probably filled with the purple leaves. She looked like a very proud child.

It hadn’t been five minutes yet.

“Are you a monster? Didn’t your eyes hurt?”, she asked, eyeing the bowl warily. No way the girl did all that, but it was properly heavy, and when she poked the cores, they sung in perfect G minor.

“Oh, were those like onions?”, Rosé asked, tilting her head. “I’m used to the burn, and most of it stays in my contact lenses.”, she explained, pointing to her pretty grey eyes. The little gemstones on top shone prettily “Charmed and all, don’t even need to take them off at night. Did you want them cut Julienne, or in other way? I forgot to ask.”

Lisa only stared, mouth dumbly open.

The leeks struggled. She usually took half an hour with those, and that was because she was used to them.

“Why in the seven circles of hell did you learn to cut those?”, she asked, pointing to the cores. “That’s not possible.”

“Huh...Cordon Bleu?”, Rosé asked, lips pursing. “I could have done them quicker, but they moved around and screeched at me. I promise you my diploma is worth something.”

“Quicker?”, Lisa asked, eyes widening. She scoffed.“You’re kidding.”

“I mean, I used to be faster back at school, but give me a few more days and I can get it done faster for you.”, Rosé explained, looking down. “I know the Julienne is kind of uneven…”

“I don’t even know who is Julienne, but she taught you well.”, Lisa said. “These are perfect.”

Rosé looked up, and snorted, cheeks puffing up in laughter.

“What’s so funny?”, Lisa asked, trying to go for strict, but not being able. She smiled as well, just looking at the other girl. Something about her made you just want to laugh with her.

“Julienne.”, Rosé said, as if it explained everything. She covered up her mouth with one hand. “You don’t know who she is.”, she giggled.

“What?”, Lisa asked, hands on her waist. “Is she some famous witch or something?”

“Forget her.”, Rosé said, waving her hand dismissively. “What else can I do?”

Lisa breathed out, looking around the kitchen, gaze stopping at the crusty old red fridge. It had seen better days, but so did everything that was inside of it.

She opened it and took out the carton of basilisk eggs, a bit bigger than normal chicken eggs, light blue and speckled with black. She was putting off doing that, but now she had an apprentice to do the dirty job for her. Literally.

“They look like little Easter Eggs!”, Rosé exclaimed, coming up next to Lisa to poke them lightly. “Can you eat them?”

“Raw? Only if you want a slow, painful death.”, Lisa explained, setting the carton carefully onto the counter. “These are basilisk eggs. Crazy expensive, but very useful.”

“Oh, are they poisonous?”, Rosé asked, eyeing them.

Lisa shrugged. Mostly everything in her kitchen was mildly poisonous. The little singing leeks could kill if you boiled them correctly.

“It’s harmless if you don’t eat them raw, just be careful with the pointed edges of the shell and you’ll be fine.”

“Ok.”, Rosé smiled, taking the egg carton and setting them on the counter. “How’ll you store them?”

Lisa stopped grinding her ingredients, feeling her face heat up. How would she store them? Now that was a good question.

“Uh, the yolks are more delicate, so I usually put them in a stasis spell and just...keep them in a bowl or something? The whites I put in a water bottle in the fridge.”, she explained.

A beat of silence.

“When are you going to use these eggs?’, Rosé asked. Somehow her tone of voice had turned icy.

“Uh...in a few months?”, Lisa said, pursing her lips. “They are taking up too much space in the fridge, but I’ll sell them to the Olympic team next year.”

Rosé groaned and covered her face with her hands, elbows on the counter. It stayed like that for almost a minute. Lisa gave her time to get up, but she just... didn’t.

“Are you ok?”, Lisa asked tentatively. Just her luck, killing her apprentice. Had she been poisoned by something already?

Rosé shook her head no, but took her hands out of her face, now only supporting herself on the counter and staring at the eggs.

“I suppose these are close to chicken eggs?”, she asked slowly. Her face was kind of red, hair a bit disheveled now.

“I guess. You want a cup of water or something?”

Rosé only breathed in deeply, eyes closed.

“You have an ice cube tray?”, she asked, after a few more seconds of tense silence. Lisa made a mental note not to annoy her. Ever.

“Yeah, a few. They are good for growing small plants.”

“I’m sure they are. Give me one and we can go back to work.”

Lisa gave her two ice cube trays and slowly went back to pounding her ingredients into fine dust. She had the feeling that, if she turned to see how Rosé was doing, she would immediately disintegrate. She could only hear the shells breaking and Rosé tapping her foot on the floor.

“Done. Can you do the stasis spell on these yolks?”, Rosé said suddenly. It seemed like working had calmed her down a bit, since she didn’t sound defeated anymore.

“Are you already done?”, Lisa asked, turning to see her work. The yolks were separated into a bowl, all the whites into the ice trays. All the yolks were whole still, and Rosé was quickly washing her hands and space on the counter with a clean dish towel she had brought.

“Yeah, I mean, they were only a bit bigger than the chicken ones.”, Rosé noted, setting the whites in the freezer. “You have no idea how many eggs I separate daily for macarons and meringues. “, she added, rolling her eyes. “The whites can freeze up to three months like this, I hope it’s enough.”

“It’s plenty. Since it’s basilisk, they are more resistant. “, Lisa said. She wasn’t going to mention the yolks were even more breakable than chicken eggs, or how much harder the shells were. It seemed like Rosé had done the job perfectly, and way faster than Lisa would have done. She quickly did the stasis spell on the yolks, under Rosé’s watchful eye. When she was finished, she put them in the cupboard.

“That looked really good. It would be great if I knew how to do it.”, Rosé mentioned off-handedly.

Lisa looked at her.

Rosé was sneakily cleaning up the counter, wiping it down and throwing small leftover dropped ingredients into the trash bag. Lisa shut her eyes quickly.

What she didn’t see wouldn’t hurt her, and it only meant more space to work on. She repeated and repeated that until it felt less like a stab on her heart.

“Teach me how to crack eggs without breaking them and it’s a deal.”

Rosé smirked, one eyebrow raising.

“Teach me the stasis thing and I’ll teach you how to do it one-handed.”

“Deal”, Lisa said, and they both high-fived.

.

Lisa was glad she followed her instincts and got Rosé to work for her.

The days after that were mostly to let Rosé used to the kitchen, and get her to know the most important bases for potions (which she got frighteningly fast), while Lisa tried not to stare too much or be too friendly too soon.

Rosé was a very funny girl, and she wasn’t afraid of hard work either, even when she came in the afternoons after a shift in the bakery, pretty even with eyebags and blonde hair dusted white from flour.

They were both sitting in the living room one day (where the sun actually shone from clean windows), shelling a bundle of peas in the sofa. Rosé was doing the job quicker than Lisa (at that point, she couldn’t even get mad), humming to herself. Today her hair was up in a bun, with light strands slipping from her bunny hair tie.

“So...the girls are going to make me a welcoming party this weekend.”, she said, not looking at Lisa. “Celebrating me getting a part time job at the bakery and all.”

“Oh, nice.”, Lisa said, struggling with a pod and almost breaking her nails trying to get it open.

“Do you want to come?”, she asked, turning to Lisa on the sofa.

Lisa stared, wanting badly to say yes, but knowing she shouldn’t. It was a delicate thing they were doing, with Lisa supposedly being her boss, but also a friend of two of Rosé’s best friends. They shouldn’t mess the whole thing. She bit her lower lip, trying to think up a good excuse.

“Jennie is letting me in her wine cellar.”, Rosé said excitedly. “All her fancy booze is mine for a day.”, she added, nodding to herself happily.

“Uh, I actually have to get Louis to the vet, he’s been really sick lately, so…”, Lisa started, but then her treacherous cat sped up from the balcony, chasing a bird.

Rosé eyed it curiously, obviously noting the little “Louis” nametag on its neck. She stopped shelling the peas.

“You...don’t want to come?”, she asked in a low voice, smile dropping from her face. 

“Ah-it’s fine, of course, but I t-thought, since they are your friends too…”

“Of course I’d like to go!”, Lisa almost yelled, making the plants in the living room shrink into themselves. Louis stared at her before going outside again, not impressed. “I mean, it’s just that it’s your welcoming party, you shouldn’t have to invite your boss to that, you’ve been seeing me the whole week.”

Rosé tilted her head.

“So? I like you, you’re my friend too.”, she said simply. “I’d be happy if you come.”

Then she went back to shelling her peas, humming to “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”, while Lisa could only stare at her, amazed.

How simple. “I like you, you’re my friend too, please come.”, she thought to herself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i THINK this whole thing will be 10 chapters but everything could change '3'  
> Next one will be the party!! All the girls together! Maybe ill even put it here pretty soon!  
> Please tell me if anything reads too awkward, im trying to better my english. Anyone else feels like jokes are funnier in your own language?  
> I'm thinking of adding some more characters, would anyone prefer someone from another group or an OC?  
> Let me know if you liked it! :D


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All the girls get together! Wohoo

They were all laying on Jennie's expensive movable couch that turned into a huge bed, hidden among comfy pillows that were probably goose feathers or something of the sort. Jisoo had loud music blaring from the speakers, and Jennie's rent was probably high enough that she didn't have any close neighbours to be bothered. Or maybe they weren't home, going on international tours or something like that. 

"Were are my squid snacks!!!", Rosé whined, throwing her legs up. "Squid snacks, squid snacks!", She yelled, rolling over to lay on top of Jisoo, who was painting Jennie' toenails bright red.

"We just had dinner, Rosie.", Jennie said, sighing. She had a green tea mask on and hair up in space buns. She looked like a high fashion ogre. "You ate three servings of pasta."

"Mess up my artwork and I'll turn you into a mouse.", Jisoo said, still concentrated on painting Jennie' nails. "Still haven't gotten over you turning me into a hummingbird.", she added, scrunching her face up in fake anger.

"But I'm hungryyy...and I just got back from Paris, they didn't have squid snacks...", Rosé whined again. "My stomach is rumbling. Listen!"

All the girls stopped talking, Lisa lowering the volume of the speakers down to zero. And, clear as day, they heard the growling on Rosé's stomach.

"What the fuck, Rosé!", Jennie said, getting up and going into the kitchen, red silk robe trailing after her. "you're like, part troll or something?"

"Get popcorn as well!", Jisoo yelled after her. "And gummy bears! And the wine!"

"I'm not your servant!", came a shrill voice from the kitchen.

"You're my girlfriend!", Jisoo yelled back.

There was silence, and Jisoo only raised her eyebrows, looking at Rosé and Lisa smugly.

"Whipped.", Lisa mumbled, hugging her pillow. She wasn't jealous.

Maybe a little bit.

Seeing Rosé three days a week was already proving to be harder than she thought, and then seeing Jennie and Jisoo getting all cute together without being the third wheel (but having to awkwardly avoid looking at Rosé while the both kissed or hugged) was just way too much. Random thoughts of things like holding Rosé's hand or just grabbing her by the chubby cheeks and kissing her silly were popping all over since they arrived at Jennie's house a few hours before. Rosé came straight from a shift at the bakery, bringing a bag of blueberry scones and her endless excitement. Lisa bought several sheet masks and a firm resolution to not let her crush get out of hand. It failed, but it was the thought that counted. 

After dinner, they each did each others' hair, which meant a fight because Jennie refused to let anyone but Jisoo touch hers. Which meant a full forty five minutes Lisa got to spend threading her hands through Rosé's enormous long hair, until it was all done up. It ended rolled in several little rolls, making her look like a busy housewife, and Rosé promised her it looked good, although the other girls said she looked ridiculous. 

Actually, with Rosé between them, it seemed their whole friendship just...settled. Lisa wasn’t one to throw words like destiny around, but, with Rosé, she wasn’t just the youngest, or the loudest, anymore. They quickly settled into easy back and forth, their shared jokes felt familiar even though it was their first hangout together, all of them. Their group felt whole, with Jisoo and Jennie doting on the both of them, and it felt as if Rosé was Lisa’s friend since birth.

They all felt like sisters so quickly it was almost funny. Maybe Jisoo was right when she set them up, actually.

"Hey, so you long have you two been together?", Rosé asked, crawling closer to Jisoo. "You used to say you'd never be with her even after a million years in college."

"Ah, things change.", Jisoo said mysteriously, flipping her long hair. "Seven months now, I think?"

"You tamed one of the biggest womanizers in the world, Jisoo.", Lisa said, rolling her eyes. "You could at least tell us what the hell did you do. You never elaborated after you started being official."

Jisoo's eyes turned into little crescents, and she smiled wickedly, hands curling around her face. She tapped her long nail on her cheeks, as if she couldn't exactly remember.

"Ah, you know...Maybe she is not as much of a womanizer as you think.", she said, shrugging. "She just needed someone to take good care of her."

"Good care of her?", Rosé whispered furiously, dark eyes glowing the size of a dinner plate. "Do you mean...?"

"Gooooood care of her.", Jisoo said, winking at Rosé and making a "shhhh" motion with her index finger. Lisa snorted, slapping Rosé's back when she only blushed more, blinking fast.

"Who is taking good care of what?", came Jennie' voice, who was struggling carrying several bags of snacks and two bottles of wine. Lisa picked them up, eyeing their labels. They looked expensive, French swirly names she couldn't even pronounce or read. Jennie tied her robe tighter around her waist and threw herself down near Jisoo, hand laying innocently just below her girlfriend's dark blue silk shorts. Jisoo just looked extremely smug, until she noticed her nail art was all messed up, while Rosé and Lisa suppressed their fits of giggles.

"I can't believe my own girlfriend doesn't respect my work.", she whined, grabbing acetone to fix it up. "You're lucky you're cute."

A cellphone pinged, and Jennie picked it up, reading a message and groaning loudly, throwing it somewhere away from the couch. 

"Wow, what happened?", Rosé asked, from where she was laying her head on Lisa's lap. Jennie snuggled closer to her girlfriend.

"This week has been awful. My New Year Launch is totally going to flop if we don't get more top tier people and vintage piece owners, but everyone wants to go to their own New Year's parties.", Jennie said, popping one wine bottle open with her teeth and taking a swig directly from the bottle. She shook her head, and took another. Then she passed the bottle to Jisoo, and laid down on her lap. "Fuck work and fuck Coco Channel specially."

"Aw, baby, you'll figure it out.", Jisoo said, scratching the back of Jennie' neck as if she was a cat. She took a sip of the wine, and hummed thoughtfully. "I guess my week hasn't been the best either. My agent told me the last magazine I did a shoot for didn't use my full body photos because my waist and thighs were too large."

"What?", Rosé yelled, getting up. “You? Large?” 

Jisoo only shrugged, pursing her lips. 

“If you are not on the industry standards, there’s no hope for the rest of us, common women.”, Lisa said, rolling her eyes.

“You two shut up, I can lift you both with one arm.”, Jisoo pouted. Jennie turned around to press a kiss to her temple.

“Babe, they would be crazy to not use your photos, you are the most beautiful woman on Earth.”

“Apparently, the most beautiful woman on Earth must be a coat hanger.”, Jisoo huffed, arms crossed. “I’m going on a diet come Monday, unfortunately”.

“Jisoo, that’s terrible! So I can’t bring you leftovers on Wednesdays?”, Rosé asked, sounding completely dismayed.

Jisoo shook her head.

“The days of Waffle Wednesday are over for me.”, she said, breathing deeply. "On Monday. For now, pass me the gummy bears." 

“Okay, now since the old ladies ranted, it’s time for the babies: Lisa, how was your week?”, Jennie asked, turning to her. She was probably expeting some awful story as well.

“Oh, great.”

Both stared back at Lisa, who only stared back, eyes wide.

“What? Sorry, I had a really good week. Rosé’s got her first paycheck, I think we are doing great together.”, she said, laughing, but still talking a long drink. She hummed, and took another.

“If your week was that good you wouldn’t be drowning your sorrows in Cabernet Sauvignon.”, Jisoo said, pointing to the bottle. Lisa stared at the label. So that was how it was pronounced. She thought it tasted like the usual.

“If I had this type of wine in my house all the time I wouldn’t be downing the Cabernet.”, Lisa corrected, passing the now half-empty bottle to Rosé. “Now you, tell everyone about how great of a boss I am.”

Rosé frowned at the bottle, carefully reading what was written in it before smelling it, swishing it and taking tiny sip. Her eyes lit up. She sipped it again, and nodded thoughtfully to herself, swishing the liquid around her cheeks.

“That’s scary.”, Jennie noted mildly, opening a gummy bear packet. “She looks like an alcoholic chipmunk.”, she said, popping several at once into her mouth. Her perfect red lipstick didn’t budge as she chewed.

“There’s Merlot, and maybe...Cabernet Franc? I think? This has such a layered mouthfeel, there’s a bit of black cherries at the end that it’s just…”

“Blahblahblah, pass me that bottle I want to get drunk tonight.”, Jisoo said, taking it from Rosé’s hands. She whined, making grabby hands at it. “You weren’t called fat in a company meeting, keep your opinions on rotten grapes to yourself.”, she said, taking a hearty drink and sighing loudly. Jennie offered her some gummy bears, and she took them. “Good, tastes good and makes me happy. A solid 10/10.”, she reviewed.

“You can’t eat gummy bears after that wine! It’s basically sacrilege!”, Rosé whined, throwing herself on the sofa dramatically.

“You were eating squid just before, Rosé. Tell us about your week or else I’ll pop the champagne open.”, Jennie threatened.

“All right, just give me back the bottle!”, Rosé whined, getting another full bottle to redo her weird ritual of smelling and shaking and sipping and nodding to herself. Lisa thought it was kind of cute, although a bit weird. But overall, everything she did was adorable. Also, she was wearing polka dot pajamas, which made her even cuter. And the buns on her hair, that Lisa herself got to make, and afterwards Rosé did a detailed dutch braid on her, while Lisa got to sit on her lap. Wonderful night so far.

“Well, the apprenticeship is going great…”, Rosé started.

“Lies!”, Jennie booed. “You can’t tell us the truth because your boss is in the room!”

“You don’t believe I’m a great boss?”, Lisa asked, scoffing.

Jisoo and Jennie both pinned her with a stare so icy Lisa couldn’t even add anything. Rosé slapped them both on their thighs lightly, laughing.

“I am telling the truth! Lisa has the patience of a saint! She always corrects me kindly and got me a balm for my skin as thanks for separating her basilisk eggs.”, Rosé said, looking straight at Lisa, who couldn’t help but smile back, proud. She held her own pendant tightly on her hand, feeling the weight of Rosé’s kind and honest eyes on her.

“Who would’ve thought you would work great together?”, Jisoo asked loudly. “Oh wait, me!”, she said, smiling and pointing to herself. “Please mention me when you marry. Or invite us to a double date.”

“You thought we would be a couple.”, Rosé said flatly. “There’s no marriage in sight.”

It was the truth, but Lisa couldn’t help but feel a bit hurt. But she had decided that. Better to have Rosé as a worker than nothing at all.

“Business couple, romantic couple, all the same.”, Jisoo said, waving a hand. “Who do you think tries on Jennie’ crazy prototype jackets before she shows them on meetings?”

“Who offers you contacts from the industry?”, Jennie pouted. “And helps you build your portfolio?”

“Oh, baby I know, thank you very much.”, Jisoo said, kissing the top of her girlfriend’s head. Jennie smiled like a little kid, burrowing herself deeper into her lap, while Jisoo looked fondly at her like she had set the moon in the sky.

Lisa sighed, hugging her pillow tighter and getting herself a blanket to cover herself with. It was getting chilly.

“Oh, dear, sorry.”, Jennie said, looking at Lisa. She clapped twice, and several little balls of flame lit up on the corners of the room, making it toasty warm back again. Rosé sighed in happiness. “Always forget you witches get cold. Jisoo is always freezing anyway, so I always suppose you are fine.”

“It’s fine, I like the cold sometimes.”, Lisa said, shrugging. Even more when Rosé came closer to her, snuggling on the same blanket and laying her head on her shoulder. “And you?”, she asked, looking down at Rosé.

“Fine either way.I guess as I prefer warmer rooms, but I don’t get too bothered by temperature.”

“And the bakery?”, Jisoo asked, hands deep into a caramel popcorn bowl. “Doing good?”

“Yes, I finally got promoted to actually working in the ovens, been making bread like crazy. Yesterday I had to work on the front, that was awful.”

“What happened?”, Jennie asked.

“The usual. An old fairy lady was very upset that I asked for her name to write on the cup of coffee, and tried to curse me.”, Rosé started. “There was a werewolf that didn’t know he had dietary restrictions as a dog and asked for a chocolate eclair, almost died, then a weird guy waited for me so he could ask me out in the back alley after the end of the night shift. He said since he was also a witch, we would be perfect together. And those are only the magical ones! The human costumers keep asking if they can pay me with a deep dark secret or a newborn instead of actual money.”

“That’s so pretentious.”, Jennie said, rolling her eyes. “Also, good week my ass, can’t believe you aren’t sobbing on the floor.”

“I’m a pretty positive person!”, Rosé explained, making a thumbs up. “I escaped a fairy curse, did CPR on a werewolf, and got to tase someone for the first time!”, she added excitedly. “It was great, really.”

“Remember me not to get on your bad side.”, Lisa mumbled around her mug of wine.

“You already know it, babe.”, Rosé quipped.

They put a movie on Jennie’s huge plasma TV, and ate snacks until Lisa got a stomach ache, and then got pizza delivered because Rosé was a bottomless pit of hunger. They bickered and washed off their face masks, and did a midnight fashion week on Jennie’s living room, stealing her designer clothes and strutting around in Channel dresses and flipflops. When morning was about to come, they piled up on the couch, exhausted, over each other, in a mountain of pillows and blankets. There, pressed up against Jisoo’s legs and feeling Rosé snore softly on her ear, Lisa thought maybe that was what life was supposed to be, before drifting off to warm, heavy sleep.

.

The beggining of the next week was specially funny, because, as Lisa opened her door (still on her sleeping shirt, pilates long forgotten), they both knew they were hangover. Rosé couldn’t even manage one of her dazzling smiles, since she looked like she was kicked out of the bed against her will, with a red beanie covering most of her face and a face mask covering the rest. They both stared at each other and couldn’t help but giggle.

“You look terrible.”, Lisa said, leading her inside. She had to kick Louis out of the way, who only stared, offended, before stretching and going somewhere.

“You look worse.”, Rosé mumbled, voice a few touches deeper than usual.

“Are you getting sick? Your voice sounds different.”, Lisa said, as they sat down on the kitchen to work through their orders.

Thankfully, a slow day.

Rosé pushed her mask down, shaking her head.

“Not really in the mood to sound chipper, that’s all.”

Her barely-awake voice sounded amazing, all raspy. Lisa shook her head, going back to her list.

‘Oh, ok.”, Lisa agreed, smiling. “Thank god, because if I opened that door and you were all sunshines and rainbows, I think I would just slam it on you.”

“Thank you, I guess.”, Rosé mumbled, scratching her neck lazily. “Anything new for today?”

“We’re not starting anything before my hangover potion, so please, stay put.”, Lisa said, getting to her fridge and taking out two little modified Yakult bottles.

“These look cute.”, Rosé said, opening the foil lid. “Do they taste good?”, she asked, smelling it and frowning.

“Like dirt and rocks and leaves.”, Lisa said, already downing hers and chasing it with a sip of strong coffee. Her pendant sizzled on her chest, confused, before settling down. She already felt loads better, eyes popping open. “Argh, I’m the best at this, really.”

‘You didn’t drink it before I came?”, Rosé said, touched. Then she drank the potion, and gagged. “Ok, take back everything I said, this is awful, I’m going to kill you.”

“Be thankful, these potions are expensive.’, Lisa said, getting up and tying her hair to start the day. “Only some skincare ones today. Get me the aloe, please?”

“Hmm.”, Rosé brought several thick leaves from the spiky plant on the floor. “Hey, what does your necklace do? It was shining just before.”

“Ah, this?”, Lisa asked, pushing her pendant out of her shirt, a little proud. “It was a present from my teacher, when I started selling my own potions at fourteen. Really complicated charmwork, it’s a one of a kind general protection amulet. It protects me from poisons, stimulants and drugs, and calms me down when I get too nervous or excited.”, she explained, smiling.

“Your teacher did that? That’s amazing.”, Rosé said, eyeing the little charm on the end of the necklace. “That’s why you’re always holding it? You don’t really look like a nervous person.”

Lisa felt herself warm up. She thought she was subtle when she held it. Maybe she just did it too much around Rosé.

“She was pretty amazing. Great witch, she helped me start my business, actually.”, Lisa added, remembering her own apprenticeship time fondly. If she got to be half the teacher to Rosé the older witch was, it would be great. “Made the pendant stop me from getting drunk and getting coffee-induced shaking, as well”.

“She sounds lovely.”, Rosé said softly, as she opened up the aloe vera leaves and extracted the thick gel inside it.

They worked in silence until late in the afternoon, forgetting about the world in their easy rhythm of mixing, slicing and charming. Rosé made them tuna sandwiches and lemonade, as well as setting a cherry pie in the oven, made the day before.

“Oh, wait, you were drunk out of your mind, and the first thing you did as you got home was a cherry pie?”, Lisa asked, when the smell got too much to bear. Rosé was actually a goddess.

She wasn’t going to mention the first thing she did when she got home was a fresh batch of hangover potions, but that was her secret to keep.

“I don’t know, I always want to bake when I get drunk”, Rosé said bashfully, as she took off the perfect cherry pie out of Lisa’s dirty oven, actually bubbling red juice on the edges and smelling like a perfectly crispy and sugary dream. “And you said you loved cherry season, and I wanted you to taste it.”

Lisa felt a little pang on her chest, but suppressed the urge to grab her pendant. Rosé was really getting to her.

They were sitting in the small area by the balcony, Rosé with her feet dangling out of the rail and Lisa sitting in her lawn chair, legs spread, sunglasses on. The sun felt nice, and they had a few minutes before it set and Rosé had to go back home. Somehow, Lisa wished she would stay. Lisa always had a keen sense of happiness, she knew that moment was precious, and she shouldn't forget it.

She stared at Rosé who was whining because she dropped a crumb of her pie slice down to the parking lot. Her mouth was stained with cherries and small crystals of sugar.

Once more, she wished that they weren't who they were.

"What are you staring so much for.", Rosé asked, pouting and rubbing her elbow over her mouth. The stain was gone, only a faint memory of red staying on the inside of her lips and on the tip of her tongue showing when she smiled. The sunlight made her whole face glow and shimmer.

She was so pretty, so pretty it hurt.

"This is really nice.", Lisa said softly, taking off her glasses to look Rosé in the eyes. "I'm glad you decided to become my apprentice."

The other girl blushed, turning to her plate.

"Well, it was easy choosing you.", she answered between a mouthful of cherry crumble.

It was easy choosing you, too, Lisa thought, but she only hummed in response, sipping her lemonade.

"I just wished you were more organized.", Rosé said shyly. "Your kitchen violates several health and safety precautions."

"A few quantical laws as well, don't forget about my 13-dimension temperature detector. ", Lisa said, laughing. "It was very expensive, I won't let you forget."

Rosé turned to her, hugging her long legs. Since they usually spent lunch time in the balcony, she was getting slightly tanned, just a hint of golden. She looked healthy and happy, maybe. Lisa would like to think she had a good effect on her.

"But, seriously.", she started, looking at her dangling feet out of the balcony. "Won't you let me clean up your kitchen?"

"There's a sense to my mess.", Lisa said, pouting. She hugged her own bony knees. It was something of a sore spot now. They worked so well together, but the kitchen was really difficult to work with two people. They kept bumping into each other, and Rosé never knew where to grab the ingredients. "It's the witchy aesthetic."

"I can keep the aesthetic, Lisa.", Rosé said, doing finger quotation marks on the "aesthetic". "Just let me throw out everything that's unusable and relocate the ingredients into labeled proper containers."

Lisa pouted. Was Rosé going to make her throw away all of her interesting ingredients? Would she lose the dried fairy corpse hiding behind her pickle jar in the fridge? It worked as a great air freshener.

"I'm a witch! I can't have labeled containers!"

"A modern one!", Rosé said, raising her tone of voice." And you can't mix your food with the potion ingredients!! Last week I mistook your Leviathan eyes for olives and almost poisoned myself! "

"But you didn't die!"

"That's really not the point", Rosé interrupted. "I'm your apprentice. I'm supposed to make your life easier. Let me do this. It was in the contract, and you bled on it."

Lisa pursed her lips.

"You'll need protective gear. There's some pretty poisonous stuff under my cupboards and all the mushrooms that grow on the corners are magically resistant, so you'd have to whack them with a knife ."

"I know. I already got them out yesterday.", Rosé said, smiling brightly. "Almost lost my hands. I could clean the whole kitchen in a day or two."

"I doubt that. I spent years making that place the most uninhabitable place on Earth."

"Please. I worked at a gas station restaurant right beside a shitty nightclub. Your kitchen is lovely in comparison. Anyway, the dead Tinker Bell in the pickle jar is even kinda cute. I can let it stay if you want.", she said, shrugging.

"I should make a list of the things you can't throw out.", Lisa said, standing from her chair and summoning a sheet of paper and a feathered pen. She started writing on it furiously;

"Don't make it longer than 10 items! Everything that crumbles on my hands, whole unpreserved animals, and rotten fruit is going straight to the trash."

"You've been planning this.", Lisa said, eyes narrowing. She pointed at Rosé with her pen, who sat innocently blinking up at her.

“I just want what’s best for you.”, Rosé said, wiping crumbs off her lap and getting up. The sun was setting now. “I should leave, sorry for not doing the dishes.”, she said, not sounding the least bit sorry.“Think about it, ok?”

While Lisa sent her home, waving goodbye and telling her that it was no big deal, she could spell the plates clean, she could only repeat in her head: I just want what’s best for you.

She closed the door, touched her head to the wood, feeling the wards get used to Rosé’s absence on the house. The apartment never seemed empty to her before.

“I just want what’s best for you”,she mumbled to herself, while she listened to music on her couch, Lili on her lap, chewing her little pig toy.

_I just want what’s best for you_ , she thought, sitting on her bed, letting it roll around on her mind and take her to sleep.

_I want what’s best for you, too._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Next one on Friday! (probably)  
> Still taking suggestions for the aditional characters, would you prefer an oc or someone from another group? :D  
> I had a lot of fun writing it! I wish I could've written more, but I have a big test today :(  
> Any mistakes, please warn me!


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Halloween! I hope everyone's safe! Have some girls being pals!  
> So, i know i asked for suggestions, and I really took them to heart! I wrote the first scene at the apothecary 3 times, each with a different girl group. None felt right (although were fun to write! I learnt a lot)but i promise the witch ocs are not going to change the original story. So, since i left them without names, you can picture whatever idol you'd like to see when they show up!

A couple weeks later and Lisa had her bags packed, ready to leave.

“Will you feed the cats and my fishes?”, she asked, maybe for the thousandth time. “And not let my cats eat my fishes? You need to water my plants and power up the wards once a day, the code to the apartment is…”

“Yes, everything is written here.”, Rosé interrupted, showing her the slip of parchment on her hand. She already had gloves and a mask on, an old ratty band tshirt that went to her knees. “Leave so I can start working.”

“I don’t know, what if I forgot something? What if you get locked in? You know the internet doesn’t work through dimensions, you’ll have to shadow call me, do you even know how to?”

“Calm down, Lisa, it’ll be fine. I’ll get Jisoo or Jennie if something happens, and they can call you or whatever.”

Lisa pursed her lips. She never left the house alone like that, always stored it in a pocket dimension, away from time and space while she shopped or traveled, safe on her jeans pocket. Her cats were going to be _devastated._

”What about your mom? Will she be alright all by herself for two days? And what if you got hurt in here, all by yourself?” 

Rosé sighed. 

”You do know I left her for four years before coming back, right? She’ll be fine. I’m an adult. Looking at you, someone could think you’re leaving the house for a century, not a day and a half for supplies.”, Rosé said, rolling her eyes and shoving Lisa out of the door. “You’ll lose the portal like that.”

“I can just ask the brothers to open me another one!” , Lisa yelled at the closed door, huffing.

She grabbed her bags and went into the elevator, nodding politely to the old lady across the corridor. She was on the way to the farmer’s market, if the little shopping cart was a clue.

“Oh, good morning.”, she said, eyeing Lisa’s bags, but thankfully not asking anything. “By the way, my arthritis has been so much better these days, thank you very much.”, she added, doing a little old lady dance to prove her point, showing her a gummy smile. Lisa smiled back at her, glad to see her so happy and energetic.

She wasn’t even using her cane anymore.

That was thanks to Rosé, actually. She said Lisa’s stash of cinnamon powder wasn’t even proper cinnamon, and she was getting ripped off by her local supplier with lower grade tree bark. Then she brought some type of high quality cinnamon sticks that smelled heavenly and mixed way better with the other ingredients of her arthritis balm. Lisa wasn’t even sure how the cream even worked before with how bad her ingredients were.

“I’m glad you’re doing better.”

“Oh, and the texture and smell! I don’t know what changed, but it’s so much smoother and easier to spread.”, the old lady added. “I recommended it to all my bingo friends, they’ll probably be calling you sometime soon.”

“Oh, really?”, Lisa asked as she got out of the elevator and into the hall. Her balm was thick, with a few crushed leaves and truthfully, smelled like ass. She didn’t agree to let Rosé do her magic on her commissions yet, but since she had let her apprentice do all the work on that balm, maybe she deserved the credit. “Actually, it was my colleague that did it.”

“Oh, that’s good. It’s good to work with someone, I think you are too young to be in your house all day.”, the old lady commented. “Goodbye!”

Lisa waved her goodbye, quickly making her way through the town to the park spot were the portal would open. She walked around the small park, checking her phone to see if it was the correct location.

Were coordinates really necessary? Couldn’t she be sent a little pin on google maps instead of an owl carrying a parchment with numbers and letters? Sometimes the witchy look wasn’t worth the effort. But it wasn't like she could have any say in the matter.

Since it was a weekday, the park wasn’t really busy, just a couple of kids and their grandparents. Lisa waved at the little kids, hoping no one would think it was too strange to see a twenty-something year old with a full traveling bag go up a huge red slide and just not get out. She went up the slide, and stared at the opening, the strange oil spill look of the portal, swirling and inviting her.

She got in position in front of the slide, taking out her bag and hugging it tightly before crossing her legs in front of her and just jumping into the portal.

Lisa used to keep her eyes open, since dimension hopping was so beautiful to see, but the bright colors and thousand versions of herself staring back confusedly at her made her feel queasy. Now, she just kept her eyes tightly shut and gave no heed to the whispers, focusing on her slow breathing ricocheting off the plastic all around her.

But then, there was a brief second where she sneaked a peek.

There was a wide eyed, contact-lenses-wearing Lisa getting her long blonde hair curled and makeup done at the same time, looking like a little doll wearing bright skimpy clothes. Lisa closed her eyes again, glad to see it wasn’t anything too bad this time. Sometimes she got to see herself as a frog getting eaten, and that was no fun. 

She kept sliding for a few seconds, until her body suddenly stopped and she had to kick a small glass hatch open with her boots, squeezing out of the slide and into the apothecary. She turned her back to the opening, closing the laundry machine door and huffing in annoyance. The whole laundry room was so dusty. She dodged a few drying panties and boxers, deciding that was somehow worse than seeing herself in a world she wore blue contact lenses.

Was it too much work to connect the portal to a normal door? One that didn’t smell like old socks?

“I’m here!”, she yelled in the empty room, dropping her bag in a corner with some old brooms. Feet came stomping down the staircase, and a skinny woman with choppy bangs came into sight. She was still in a sleep shirt, rubbing her droopy eyes.

Lisa supposed it didn’t really matter since the shop was outside time and space, but it was almost eleven a.m in a weekday, and she was a paying customer.

“Aw, it’s you.”, the girl said, tilting her head cutely. She crossed her arms, eyeing Lisa’s clothes critically. “New boots?”

“Well, I’m glad to see you too, where’s your brother?”, Lisa said.

She only shrugged, leading Lisa into the front of the store.

It was way more organized than Lisa’s workroom, but they were a proper, established business, going back seven generations. There was a huge wall filled with little labeled drawers top to bottom, little gold plaques gleaming, besides the sealed jars and measuring utensils for sale, each one with a tiny tag warning its price. The shop was small, but clean and tidy. The windows were wide, showing a desert landscape in an eternal sunset, purple and pink. It was a spell to not frighten the customers, since the was actually in the void of space, but Lisa quite liked the lonely cacti and dunes.

If you pretended you didn’t see the dirty laundry room in the back (or the probably messier bedrooms on the second floor), you could say they were even proper witches.

“He is on a date, but coming home soon, I hope.”, she said, shrugging. She brought a coffee pot from the kitchen, taping the opening with her fingers, making steam rise up. Lisa breathed in the smell of freshly made coffee.

“Oh, you’re a real angel.”, Lisa said, helping herself to one of the mugs on the little coffee table and taking a sip.

“Not really.”, she said, brushing her hands through her black fringe.

“This time I’m staying till sunset, can’t go back home for two days..”

She looked up, an eyebrow raising.

“Changing the tiles or something?”

“Nope.”, Lisa said, smug. She took another slow sip, eyeing the other witch get all confused at her from the corner of her eye. “Got an apprentice, she’s deep cleaning my workroom.”

“What?”, she laughed a bit.

As if it was an amazing, incredible thing that she got an apprentice. Lisa huffed.

“Can’t imagine a salary worth all that trouble..”

“Now you’re exaggerating.”, Lisa pouted, rolling her eyes at her.

It seemed _everyone_ had an opinion on her workroom. As she was about to respond to that, the front door clinked, and in came her brother, in a black button up and skinny jeans. He raised his hand to both of them, yawning and rubbing his smudged eyeliner even more.

“Looking good, tiger.”, his sister noted, passing him a cup of coffee as well. “Lisa just got in.”

“Uh, nice. “, he said, sipping the coffee with his eyes closed. “Sorry none of us are in uniform, this is usually our day off.”

“Oh, it’s fine, thanks for having me in such short notice”, Lisa said. Silence came over the three, until she dared to ask, eyeing his tired eyes and party clothes. “Is this a walk of shame? Your sister said you went on a date.”

He dropped his head on the table, groaning. His sister snickered, looking quite satisfied with herself, hugging her bony knees.

“Why can’t you keep quiet sometimes? You don’t even like people.”, he mumbled into the table.

“I like Lisa. She’s a friend.”, she said, shrugging. Lisa gave her a wink, secretly satisfied with the shy way the other girl looked down in response, a curl on her mouth that was almost a smile.

“And I like you, girl. So, was the date good?”, Lisa asked.

“I think so. We ended up at three in the morning in an all-you-can-eat buffet, so ... not really a walk of shame.”

“A waddle of gluttony.”, his sister said thoughtfully, nodding to herself.

“I wish someone would take me to a 24hr bakery.”, Lisa sighed.

Maybe Rosé could take her to the bakery she worked for sometime. Not as a date, of course. As a friend. She sipped her coffee.

“You said you had to stay out for two days?”, the brother asked, smoothly changing the subject and checking his wristwatch. “It’ll be a few hours until the portal opens back again, and it’ll be Monday morning there...”

“Yeah, I think she’ll be done by then.”, Lisa said.

“She?”, the sister asked, almost dropping the notebook she was scribbling in.

“Yeah, I got an apprentice! Isn’t that nice? Like a proper witch and all.”, Lisa said.

“Thanks for you two letting me stay, by the way. I brought you all some potions.”

“You’re a great customer.”, both answered quickly. “There was no need to bring presents.”

“I think you should stay over more often.”, the witch said. “My brother makes me crazy sometimes. And right, “Great customer”, as if you didn’t hold this store open with all your orders and contacts. You’re almost an honorary employee.”

“Aw, thanks.”, Lisa said. “But this is a good apothecary, I wouldn’t recommend any other shop.”

After their coffee was over, the brother helped Lisa get everything that was on her shopping list, stored in little cloth bags or vials. He had a little moving stairwell that he used to get up into the taller drawers, making little leaves fall down into Lisa’s hair. It seemed like he was still half-asleep and didn’t notice them, or just didn’t care.

“Oh. These are some new ingredients.”, he noted, eyeing the few last items. “Why would you even use Madagascar Vanilla beans?”

“My apprentice likes to bake, I’m thinking of combining some techniques.”, Lisa said, pushing a leaf out of her hair.

He nodded, getting her thin, delicious-smelling stalks of vanilla beans in a little jar.

His sister kept staring at the both of them and writing in her notebook now and then, until it was almost time to go back. The sky was still purple, as if no time had passed at all, but Lisa was definitely hungry and tired. She had bought more than she should, and left a good chunk of her savings at the store. The brothers were charming, and while their products were always top notch, they always convinced her to buy things she didn't actually need. Lisa hoped Rosé would enjoy the new ingredients.

“Bye, Lisa!”, the sister said cheerfully, waving at her while her brother lead Lisa back to the laundry room. “I really liked your presents! You should come more often. Your hair looked pretty today!”

“She’s just happy I buy so much.”, Lisa huffed, shoving the bags inside the opening of the laundry machine. Her brother only stared blankly at her, blinking slowly, before he shook his head and shoved Lisa through the hole. “What?”

. 

“I can’t believe you did this all in two days.”, Lisa said, mouth dropping open as she arrived in her kitchen. She was able to see the stone flooring for the first time since she moved in. Her countertop was empty. Her workshop looked _cozy._

All the little strange things she had hanging around were neatly labeled and separated in two different cupboards, one for animals and the other for plant parts. There was no weird magical octopus in the sink, replaced by a big fish tank under it. Her little tropical fishes were swimming happily in it, for the first time not contained in a self cleaning bowl.

Her oven had no crust on it, she could almost see herself reflected on the fridge, the whole place smelled like lemon dish soap. The sun filtered in through the windows, a light breeze making her little wood charms tinkle and whisper. It looked bigger, more professional.

She turned to Rosé, a thousand thoughts rushing on her mind:

_“Where is my stuffed manticore?”_

_“Did you throw away my harpy feather collection?”_

_“How did you get the poisonous mold out of the drain?”_ , and suddenly, a very fast and bright:

_“Can I kiss you right now?”_ , zapped through her mind.

Rosé only stared back, smiling and holding a basket with actual fresh sourdough bread, hair flat and face bare, the big sleeping shirt slipping a little of her thin shoulders.

“Hm...Did you like it?”, she asked timidly.

“You wanna move in?”, Lisa said instead, aiming for casual and failing miserably. Just as the words left her mouth, she huffed, looking down.

Rosé laughed and set the basket on the countertop, leaning against it.

“Are you kidding me?”, she giggled.

“I’m not, listen!”, Lisa said, spurred by her own evil thoughts. “I have an unused guest room, you are my apprentice, I am supposed to pay you back, right? I can pay you your part on the potions and offer free room and board. Proper business partners and all that.”

“....Wait, are you serious?”, Rosé stopped, mouth dropping open. “You are.”

“Of course I am.”, Lisa said easily, as if the idea didn’t just burst out of her mouth. “You said you wanted to leave your mom alone, going all the way from her house to here takes more than an hour, I live pretty close to the bakery you’re working on the other days of the week.”

“You’re sure about this?”, she asked, looking down.

“I mean, the one who’s supposed to be sure is you. I’ll just keep living my life as usual. “, a beat of silence. “Maybe you could change the cats’ litter boxes. That’d be nice.”

Rosé’s button nose scrunched up.

“Now that sounds agreeable.”, she stopped, hands twisting her shirt. “I’ll think about it? I mean, it’s not that I’m not grateful, but don’t think I talked about my mother because I wanted you to let me stay, or that I cleaned your…”

“Calm down, calm down, Rosie.”, Lisa said, raising her hands. “You’re Jisoo’s friend, which means you are my friend. You work hard and learn really fast and I think we work well together. I know we don’t exactly work as if I’m your boss, so if you’re uncomfortable about that, I promise…”

“It’s not that.”, Rosé interrupted, still looking down. “It’s just, seeing you everyday is going to be a little…”

“Annoying, right? I’ll tell you, I wear the most ridiculous pajamas, and I promise you I’m even louder on Saturdays, but I could leave the house if you want silence sometimes.”, Lisa said, giving her a sideways smile. “So...Is that a yes?”

Rosé punched her weakly on the shoulder.

“A maybe. I’ll think about it.”

“Keep my pajamas in mind. I don’t know how to cook and you’ve already seen the way I keep my kitchen.”

“Yeah, I’ve been scrubbing it for the better half of a day now, I know exactly what you’ve been up to in that dreadful microwave of yours.”, Rosé said, rolling her eyes.

“Talk shit about my microwave spinach souffle again and you’ll never taste it.”

“I hope I never do, actually.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter is pretty soon, the story is picking up! Please leave something if you liked it, or if somethings wrong with the english! Its as hard as ever for me.  
> Also:would anyone like the chapters longer? Or is it fine the way it is? I never know how to end the chapters properly so they end up super short like this one or super long hahah


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Snapshots of roomate life

She came in with a traveling suitcase filled with clothes and a single carboard box filled with books and knick knacks. There was a guitar on her back, swinging around as she walked. Lisa had a potion bubbling in the stove, and got to the door to let her in.

“Is that all? Are you going back later to get the rest of your stuff?”, Lisa asked, taking the box on her hands as she guided Rosé inside their now shared apartment. It didn’t involve much changing, since her guest room was not a storage place anymore.

“I sold my keyboard before going to France, and it’s not like I can’t buy stuff to fill my room now.”, she answered, shrugging. Lisa laid the box on the writing desk, sitting on Rosé’s bed.

“I mean, it’s not much, but it’s yours. This is your key, do you need help setting things up?”, Lisa said, giving her the spare one she usually kept under the carpet. She eyed the little room. It was not unlike her own, with the simple hardwood bed, the writing desk and wardrobe and the window. Unlike her own, it was completely bare beyond those items. No photos on the wall, no fairy lights everywhere, books and clothes on the floor. Lisa guessed Rosé would take care of that soon.

Suddenly, the two year agreement on their apprenticeship felt way too short. It had been almost four months already.

“I like it a lot already. I'll fix the room myself, don't worry.", Rosé said, also looking around. “I shared a bedroom with five students in France. This is great. Thank you so much, Lisa.”, she added, smiling brightly. Luckily, after the storage room was changed into a regular room, it was actually quite tidy.

“It’s fine, I’m glad you’re here.”, Lisa answered, twisting her pendant. “If you need anything, I’ll be in my room.”, she added, getting up and patting her sweatpants. “Get prepared to see me in these a lot, by the way.”, she added, pointing to her outfit and making her giggle. She got out of the room and shut the door slowly. Breathed in and out. It was fine, Rosé moving in was fine.

She could do roommates.

After a few hours, Rosé came out of her room, all set up already. It was the first time Lisa saw her in regular clothes, but she looked just as lovely as when she was done up. She sat primly beside Lisa on the yellow sofa, scrolling on her phone. Lisa contained herself for a few minutes before throwing herself over Rosé.

After all, they were roomates now. Surely that was allowed?

“Make me dinner.”

Rosé wiggled, trying to free herself, but Lisa grabbed her kicking legs.

“You’re killing me!”, she laughed, voice muffled under Lisa’s shirt. She got out, face red and eyes bright, hair all over the place.

“Shut up! I’m being so kind, letting you in my home and you treat me like this?”, Lisa whined, hand over her heart. “I’m mortally wounded. Make me dinner.”

“I will not.”

“It’s literally your job. I will sue. Jennie has lawyer friends.”

“My job is to help you with potions.”

“There’s a potion that stops hunger. It’s pretty good, it’s called “Hot Dogs”, have you heard of it?”

“You’re full of shit.”

“I could be full of hot dogs right now but you keep on being a lazy and disrespectful apprentice.”

Rosé rolled her eyes, shifting down from the sofa to the floor, groaning. Lisa crouched down next to her, making sure her eyes were big and pleading. She had that hability perfected after years of being a cat owner.

“Pleeease? My kitchen is really nice.”

“What? The first time we met, you didn’t want me to see it, because you knew I would judge you. “Really nice”, I’m going to kill you for your crimes, Lalisa.”, Rosé said, slapping her slightly on the shoulder.

“Yeah, but then you cleaned it up nicely and now we even have a standing mixer! Come on, I bought sausages.”

Rosé sat up, eyes narrowed.

“Was this all planned? You invited me here so I would make sausages for you? ”

“Whyyyy…”, Lisa pouted, throwing herself over Rosé again. Her apprentice only shoved her off, getting up and walking to the workroom.

Their workroom.

That sounded nice.

Lisa followed her with a spring on her step, knowing she scored herself a dinner made by a Cordon Bleu chef. So what if it had involved a little bit of evil machinations to do it? She was an evil witch.

“I’m going to cook you an actual meal with vegetables and meat, so you learn what an actual cook is able to...oh my god.”

“Yeah, I know.”, Lisa said, shrugging. “I figured, since you’re all about kitchen safety and all.”

Rosé held the yellow apron with a little squirrel stitched on the breast pocket like it had materialized out of thin air, and wasn’t patiently waiting on top of the (now) clean marble countertop they had for a workspace.

They had sunlight now, coming in from the tall clean windows and lighting up the whole room, making little dust particles dance around as they lazily dropped to the floor. Not that Lisa really needed light or warmth, now that Rosé was inside the kitchen.

“This is so cute!!”, she squealed, hugging the apron closer to her chest. “The _squirrel!_ ”, she noted, high pitched voice so excited. The embroidery was actually not really well done, since Lisa learnt it as a hobby, but she tried to make it look as good as her limited abilities allowed to. It probably worked, as Rosé seemed to be slightly vibrating with energy now.

Lisa stood in the doorway, arms crossed, just staring.

“You like it? Kind of like a housewarming gift.”

Rosé turned to her, already putting the apron over her head, eyes wide.

“Do I? I’m going to make you the best dinner you’ve ever had, Lisa.”, she said, nodding to herself, a proud little smile on her face. “Tie my back for me?”, she added, coming closer and twirling around like a ballerina.

“Okay.”, Lisa answered easily, taking the lace endings of the apron and beginning to tie it around her apprentice’s small waist, breathing in her honey sweet fragrance. From behind Rosé, eyes locked on her back and her sleek blonde ponytail, Lisa could see the golden peach fuzz on her slim neck, the delicate glint of the golden chain she always wore around it, disappearing inside the front of her shirt. Again, she knew that the moment was important, and that she was truly happy. She wished she could just hug her from the back.

Lisa shook her head, and focused back on the apron, which she bought more for its cuteness than for its practical use. Rosé seemed happy enough with it, turning around smiling and holding the edges as if it was a pretty new dress. She did a curtsy, looking like a little princess.

“Isn’t it the cutest thing?”, she asked, beaming, cheeks puffing up as she smiled.”Thank you so much!”

“Yeah.”, Lisa said softly.

She wasn’t even looking at the apron.

“Okay, now sit down and let a woman work.”, Rosé said quickly, ushering Lisa into one of the stools and going into the kitchen cupboard (the third one, that didn’t have magical ingredients, only boring fruits and rice and noodles), standing on her tiptoes to grab the ingredients for whatever she was going to do. Lisa pointed a finger to the cabbage that was on top of a basket, making it tip down into Rosé’s stretched hands.

She turned around, pouting.

“No magic when I’m cooking!”, she whined.

“What’s the use of magic if you don’t use it?”, Lisa said, shrugging. “You were struggling.”

“Shut up, I’m pretty tall for a girl.”, she said, still holding the cabbage in her hands. She looked down, pouting. Tapped her feet, once, twice, three times. “Get me carrots and onions as well, then. I can’t reach the top shelf.”

Lisa laughed as the ingredients tipped down into Rosé’s hands, who then set a flying onion clonking into her head.

“Ow, is that how you treat your boss?”, Lisa whined, rubbing the top of her head.

“Peel that onion for me, make yourself useful.”, Rosé said, setting a wok into the cooktop and lighting it with a snap of her fingers. It seemed like the ban of magic on cooking only worked for Lisa.

“I could cut it for you.”, Lisa offered.

“As if I’d trust you with a knife.”, Rosé scoffed, chopping vegetables with a speed Lisa didn’t think was actually human. She could barely see her hands moving, only the rhythmic _thunthunthun_ of the knife coming down on the cutting board. The carrot slices were paper thin when they dropped into sizzling oil.

“All right, peeling onions it is. Me, a world renowned potioneer, peeling onions. I’ve deboned a manticore before, you know. With my bare hands. In the wild.”

“My sister could peel it faster than you, Lisa.”, Rosé commented lightly, dropping meat into the fire. It already smelled great, how did she do it?

Rosé quickly gave up on trying to make Lisa work with the onions, as her eyes started to water.

Now she was just demoted to watcher, arms crossed on the stool sipping pre-made sweet tea.

Not as if it was bad, watching Rosé completely dominate the kitchen, her every movement precise and calculated, eyes focused as she cut, sauteéd and seasoned a vegetable stir fry with noodles in under twenty minutes. She sprinkled something sparkly from the magical plants cupboard, and used an incantation to thicken up the broth, but it seemed her work was pretty human-like, all in all.

Lisa could deal with that alright.

“Done, give me a second to get the chopsticks.”, Rosé said, setting two full self-heating and shatter-proof bowls on the counter. As she left to get them, Lisa quickly snatched a beautiful piece of bell pepper on top of the bowl, covered in thick reddish-brown sauce and sesame seeds. “Don’t you dare start without me.”, Rosé added just as she popped the piece into her mouth.

“I would never.”, Lisa said, chewing quickly and wiping off the excess sauce from the corner of her own mouth. She felt a little burst of flavor and energy on her mouth, probably from the little plant extract Rosé used at the end.

Or maybe it was only the minced garlic and ginger, she could never tell the difference.

“Okay, now it’s ready!”, Rosé said, wiping down her face with a cloth and taking off her apron, sitting down. The heat of the fire made her cheeks blush even pinker than normal, her pretty ponytail now letting a few strands of hair fall down on the front, framing her face. “It’s been a while since I’ve been in a kitchen this well stocked, but you really need to buy some more spices.”, she commented.

“Aren’t you a chef?”, Lisa asked, mouth full of beef. “My kitchen isn’t even that good, Jisoo buys everything.”

“I mean, while I was at my mom’s, we didn’t have much of anything, since they usually eat out and dad basically lives on porridge.”, she said, finally digging in. She shoved food on her mouth, chewing happily with her eyes closed. "I missed this sooo much!"

Lisa was glad she made her the embroidered squirrel. Rosé looked exactly like one, with her pink cheeks full and humming with pleasure.

“You really like to eat, huh?”, Lisa asked, smiling at her.

“I love it!”, she answered between one bite and another. “Thank the Gods I have a fast metabolism, or else I’d be screwed.”

“This is really good.”, Lisa said, slurping down her noodles. “You gotta teach me sometime.”

“You? Near sizzling hot oil and the big-ass cleaver I was using on the cabbage?”, Rosé asked, eyes wide and round. “I want to keep having a boss, thank you. You can add the spells at the end, I’m the worst at that”

“I survived until now just fine.”, Lisa noted, pouting. “On instant noodles, but I was fine. What did you do with the food? I’m not really well versed in kitchen spells, since I can burn water if I’m not paying attention.”

“Some conservation spells, since I made enough to last us a few days, keeping the flavours fresh and all, an energy boost and reassurance. It’s my go-to combo, when who I’m serving isn’t really troubled by anything, but it can vary.”, Rosé said softly. “I’ll teach you something easier next time.”

Lisa nodded, chest tightening at the mention of a “next time”. A next time with this softer, after-hours Rosé, soft and easy with a wide cozy tshirt and bunny slippers.

That would be nice, as much as it was bad for her own heart.

Whatever slight interest they had on each other in the beginning, pursuing it now would just be unethical. And now that Rosé saw how she really lived and worked, no way she was still interested. She just had to keep being a good boss, a nice friend, and hope that Rosé would keep brightening up her doorstep as long as she wanted to.

“Yeah.”, she said, eyes going down to her own hands.

They finished up, keeping the conversation light. Rosé whined about her part-time job on the bakery, showing Lisa several little silver burn marks on her arms, since she wasn’t used to the big, magical ovens they used there. It seemed like her magic didn’t heal Greek Fire burns.

“Oh, dear, give me a second, I can make them disappear real quick.”, Lisa said, already getting up. She had a cream that could…

“No, these are fine, almost healed.”, Rosé said. “Also, they show I’m a real cook.”

“Really?”

“The little nicks on my hands and the burns on my arms are how other people know what I work in. No self-respecting chef actually has perfectly unmarred hands, you know?”, she said easily. “I like them, and they are a good reminder to be careful around big knives and heat, no matter how good I am.”

“Ah, what would happen to me if I never healed my wounds from Potions?”, Lisa pondered out loud. She laughed, remembering several close calls with near uncontrollable chemical fires, poison fumes, sharp talons, teeth and thorns. “I’d probably be dead.”

“That’s not funny, that’s scary!”, Rosé yelled, hitting her on the shoulder. “Also, since I made the food, you have to do the dishes.”, she added, smiling crookedly.

“Ahhh, so terrible.”, Lisa said, snapping her fingers and clapping for all the utensils go into the sink. Now that there wasn’t a tentacle monster hanging in there, it was easy to charm the sponge and hot water to clean everything by itself. “Sometimes I wonder if you’re even a witch.”

“So much disrespect!”, she whined. “I’m older than you!”

“And I’m your boss!”

“On paper only.”, Rosé said, nose up high.

Lisa showed her her tongue, then stepped up, yawning.

“You can take the shower first, there’s a clean set of towels there for you. Don’t mess with anything that isn’t labeled and you’ll be fine”, she said.

“Oh, thanks. I’m not even going to ask. I’ll buy my own stuff soon.”

“You don’t need to, if you want.”, Lisa smiled. “I make enough for two.”

“Ok, thank you, I’ll be back soon!”, she waved goodbye, leaving the room.

Lisa sighed, turning to browsing her phone and listening to music while she waited. At some point she almost took a nap on the couch right there, but decided against it. No good host behaviour. She was checking her online wishlist for rare ingredients, checking off the ones she already used in a potion or another, glad to see her business was going well and she was slowly filling up all the little squares. The little visit to the apothecary was god sent, right before her orders filled up near the end of the year.

Then, a light breeze came from behind her, a sweet scent that had to come from her own body wash, but warmer. Lisa closed her eyes, breathing it in and feeling herself melt in the worn out couch. Small pointed fingers rested lightly on her shoulder, two drops of water dropped on top of her head. She looked up. Rosé’s smile hurt so good, and Lisa had to grab for her pendant again.

“Your water pressure is amazing.”, she said, barefaced and fresh. Her breath smelled like mint. Her freshly dyed blond hair was dripping down, soaking her white pajama shirt. .

“Dry your hair, crazy girl!”, Lisa said, turning and taking the towel from her, rubbing her hair insistently. They both sat in front of each other on the couch, Rosé’s skinny long legs all around her.

“Ouch!! You’re too rough!”, she whined, while Lisa laughed. She stopped drying her, holding the towel between her cheeks, making her lips form a pout.

Rosé smiled at her, blinking innocently. A second or two, Lisa allowed herself to stare, at her pink cheeks and bright eyes, hair fluffy and dry.

“What are you looking at?”, she whined, turning even pinker.

“You look like a chipmunk. Like a little baby chipmunk.”, Lisa laughed, squeezing her face, talking in a baby voice. “So cuuuuute!”

“Stoooop!”, she whined. “I’m a grown woman!”, she said, shaking her head wildly. “Your body wash smells so good.”, she said, smelling her own wrists.

Lisa held her pendant tighter in her hands.

“What?”

“It smells like summer rain, somehow. Warm and green. What kind is it?”, she asked, still smelling her wrist. “I want to make it.”

“Oh, let’s do it sometime then. It’s really easy.”

“No way!”, she exclaimed, eyes wide. “It’s so good!”

Lisa smiled, proud and warm. 

.

Rosé moving in involved much less of a bother than Lisa thought it would. She locked her room door most of the time, and Lisa did as well. It was good, living together but still having a bit of privacy. Lisa felt as free as she did living alone, and she hoped Rosé felt comfortable too. She was tidy, and slowly Lisa was trying to become better, at least for their shared rooms.

Still, they spent most of their free time on the living room, or in the kitchen.

Strangely, Lisa thought that her crush would fade away, having to see Rosé everyday, disheveled and eyes puffy from sleep, or even that they would run out of things to talk about, or she would grow tired of her at some point.

It didn't change.

She still loved to hear her talk about music, composing and cooking, or chattering on about her day at the bakery. Getting to see her in the mornings, silent next to each other as they brushed their teeth, or when Lisa woke up late and Rosé left a cup of coffee outside her room, floating even though levitating charms were hard for her, and still piping hot. It quickly became clear that they were best friends first and co-workers second, when Rosé hugged her back in the mornings or when they joked around while making potions, which was another issue altogether. Rosé was all around her, always. Reading in the living room, getting her legs on Lisa’s lap, or playing with Leo in the balcony and simply grabbing Lisa by the hand to play as well.

It was with faint realization that, most of all, Lisa just wanted to be around Rosé. Standing near her was sweet enough, and getting to be her friend, getting to see her soft and rough sides, her giggles and her puffs of anger, was already more than she felt she deserved. Rosé was a little beam of happiness, and it felt so right to hang out with her, wake up and see her disgruntled sleepy face on the kitchen in the mornings. The rest, any confession she could make, was only secondary.

They breezed through the initial stages of friendship, and now were just perfectly comfortable around each other like there wasn't ever a time where it wasn't the two of them in the apartment. 

.

“By the way, is that potion on the oven timed? When are we supposed to take it away from the fire?”, Rosé asked one day, pointing to the slowly simmering pot of cough syrup Lisa was making.

“Ah, when it stops smelling like boiling vodka.”, Lisa answered, shrugging. “It’ll mean that all the vodka has boiled already, so you can use it on children.”

“I’ll guess forty minutes, you animal”, Rosé said, taking a little chicken timer and turning its head to forty minutes. “Vodka on cold syrup?”

“Don’t question my methods.", she countered, pouting. 

.

She loved when Rosé hugged her from behind sometimes and was extra clingy, and loved when she was a bit moody and sat opposite to her on the couch to listen to the radio, but still hummed along when Sinatra came on.

"Oh, I absolutely love this one!", she said one lazy afternoon, while Lisa was on the floor contemplating if she should get her nails done. She got up, untying her hair and started swaying to the song, looking at Lisa mischievously.

She made a come hither gesture at her, wiggling her hips for good measure. She was barefoot and in grey sweatpants, but she made it up with enthusiasm, making signs with her hands and everything.

_“O is for the only one I see…”_ , she said, pointing at Lisa.

"It's kind of corny.", Lisa said, but got up with her.

“You’re corny. I’m corny. It’s life. Let’s dance.”, she said, taking Lisa’s hands and putting them on her own waist. They both swayed to the music from side to side, while Rosé singed softly, following Sinatra’s voice.

Living and working together was supposed to be harder, Lisa thought, holding Rosé’s hands and twirling her around the living room. Falling for her was supposed to be like a slow cresting wave.

They danced and Lisa sang a bit, even though she wasn’t all that confident in doing that. Rosé only nodded enthusiastically at her.

“Love was made for me and you..”, she finished, and they held each other’s hands and ran in circles until they both fell on the floor, dizzy and giggling. Lisa tried to regain her breath, while thinking of the give of Rosé’s hips under her hands, and the way her hair fell perfectly around her face. It didn’t really work.

"What are you thinking about up there?", Rosé asked, rolling over and laying completely on top of Lisa. "Your pendant is glowing."

Lisa looked down on her chest to see her charm shining like a second sun. Rosé's bony hips were pressing into her, warm from the afternoon sun. Her blonde hair tickled her neck. The jewel shone brighter, and Lisa had to close her eyes, focus on her breathing.

It was fine. They could stay in that situation as long as possible, and when it ended, Lisa wouldn't be too broken up about it.

When her heart stopped racing, she opened her eyes. Rosé was staring straight at her, and something in the serious set of her eyebrows told her she could see straight through her.

"I was thinking about memes.", Lisa said.

"Oh, right.", Rosé said, rolling her eyes. "I've never seen anything that bright."

"You look that bright sometimes.", Lisa blurted out. "Your magic sometimes spills out."

"It does? My momma always said it was because I'm too pale.", Rosé said, raising a hand to see the tone of her skin.

Lisa hummed, and Rosé giggled where her cheeks where pressed to Lisa's throat.

"We could go to the beach sometime, and you could get a tan.", she said after a few seconds.

"That would be nice.", Rosé said in a low voice. "Just the two of us?"

It took all of Lisa's willpower to not let her pendant glow like a lighthouse in the middle of their living room.

"I-if you want.", she stuttered out.

"I'd like that."

Before Lisa could say something she shouldn't, the alarm started screaming in the kitchen, and Rosé grunted as she got up to check on the potion on their kitchen. The moment was broken, and Lisa got to sit up in her living room, alone and confused, and think about the way her life was going.

Their kitchen. It was a tiny, forbidden thought that kept feeling into Lisa's life. It wasn't theirs for real, but it just felt so good to pretend it was.

.

Lisa still wouldn't let her come with her to go shopping or forage for ingredients, and Rosé decided it was only fair Lisa wasn't allowed to come with her for groceries. Still, she felt awfully smug when Rosé texted her from the first floor, telling her the bags were too heavy and she had to come down and help her.

"Why did you buy so much?", Lisa frowned as they were both going up on the elevator. She had several knitted bags worth of groceries in her arms, and Rosé was holding a huge watermelon with both hands, giggling to herself.

"My arms are noodles and there was a sale on pretzel snacks.", Rosé said, elbowing her in the stomach. "I'm tired, lend me your shoulder.", she whined, already poking her head in the space between Lisa's shoulder and chin, sighing.

"Your head is too heavy!", Lisa whined, but felt herself warm up. She could not even touch her pendant, both her hands were busy.

"This space was made for me!", Rosé whined, rubbing her face further into her neck. "Be careful, I don't want to drop the watermelon.", she threatened. They both went up the stories in silence, the doors opening up when they arrived.

"Oh, good evening.", came a low voice in front of them. Rosé gasped, and her head was up in a second.

"Oh, hello.", Lisa said, sighing in relief.

It was only her neighbour, a guy a bit older that had a white cat. He seemed ready to go out, in a black silk shirt and pants more tight than reasonable, phone and keys in hand. She could swear there was a hint of eyeliner in him too.

"I'd wave but my hands are full.", she said, showing him the bags.

"It's fine.", he said, smiling. In the few times they saw each other, he seemed nice. "Need help?"

"No, we're fine.", Rosé said quickly, even though she struggled with the watermelon on her arms. Lisa was just about to accept, but kept quiet.

"Are you her new roommate?", he asked, tilting his head towards Rosé. A little black curl came over his eye. "I've seen you a few times on the hall."

"Yeah.", Lisa said quickly, stepping out of the elevator. "Moved in a few weeks ago. Come on, Rosé."

Rosé stared a bit more at him, finally stepping out of the elevator, allowing him to come inside. As the doors closed on him, he waved at them both:

"It was nice meeting you!"

They went inside their apartment, and Rosé quickly went to store everything while Lisa sat down and sipped on cucumber and ginger water.

"That was your neighbour?", Rosé asked conversationally, as she was setting lemons on the bowl. Now they had a lemon bowl, apparently.

"Yeah. Our mail gets mixed sometimes. He asks to let Leo and his cat together on playdates in the common area by the parking lot. It’s cute. ", she added, thinking back on the cats playing together and laying on top of each other in the sun.

"He's pretty cute for sure.", Rosé said, putting her pretzel snacks on the highest shelf. Her sweater was a bit short and Lisa found herself staring at a sliver of golden skin, sipping water to distract herself

"And that body? And face? He was at least Jisoo's level.", she added, and there was a pause, as if Lisa was supposed to say something in return.

"Hmm.", Lisa agreed half-heartedly. He seemed fine, she supposed. Quiet, too. A regular human, since it was a mixed apartment complex, though maybe a bit of fae blood in him could be possible, since Rosé said he was so handsome.

"So...?", Rosé continued, stopping in front of her, hands on her waist.

"So what?", Lisa asked, setting her phone down.

"You ever hung out with him or something? He seems our age.", she said.

"Not really.", Lisa hummed. "I don't even know him that well."

"Why not?"

"Why should I?", Lisa frowned. Before, Rosé didn't seem much interested in the neighbours that much.

Though, she guessed, none of them were tall, older guys with Superman hair.

"Well, he seemed pretty friendly with you.", Rosé pressed on. She turned to slicing the watermelon up, though it looked like she was stabbing it to death. Red juices on the cutting board. She usually wasn’t that messy in the kitchen.

"He's a friendly guy, I guess.", Lisa said. She stopped for a second, considering. "Are you interested in him?"

Rosé stopped cutting the watermelon, turning to her.

"What? No!", she pouted defensively. "Just though, since you live next door to each other, you would be close."

"I see his laundry load every Saturday, and huh...it's not pretty.", Lisa smiled, thinking back on the adult sized unicorn onesie she saw on his basket one day. "And I'm a lesbian."

"Oh, I see.", Rosé said, looking down. "I mean, since you agreed to that blind date a few months ago, I supposed you were, but you never know, right?", she laughed a bit.

"You never know.", Lisa repeated slowly, nodding to herself.

There was a bit of silence, and it looked like Rosé was struggling with saying something. Her cheeks were red when she handed Lisa a plate with three watermelon slices. They bundled up with blankets and went outside.

"I-I'm not.", she stuttered out suddenly, when they were in the balcony, watching the sunset and the first stars of the night sky blinking awake. "A lesbian, I mean. I don't want to label myself, but definitely not a lesbian."

"I understand.", Lisa nodded, spitting several seeds down into the parking lot. Though Rosé was obviously nervous, she giggled.

"Are you fine with that?", she asked after a few seconds. Outside was freezing, but her dark eyes were warm, reflecting the golden light of the living room.

"I'm fine with you, Rosé. It's good, whatever you decide for yourself.", Lisa said.

Rosé only hummed, looking down on the parking lot and holding her untouched watermelon slice. She looked so cute as a cocoon of baby pink blankets. Her hair was shoved inside the comforter, making it look like she had styled herself a bob cut. Lisa had the urge to pet her head, and so she did. They stayed like that for a few seconds.

"This is really nice.", Rosé said in a low voice, letting Lisa pet her as if she was a cat. "I'm glad I moved in, I think."

"I'm glad too.", Lisa answered easily, because it was easy. Letting Rosé in was easy, falling for her was easy. Lisa had never found something so simple and sweet as liking Rosé. "Maybe you could stay forever.", she joked, but Rosé only hummed in return, seemingly lost in thought.They stayed until it got too cold, and Rosé started complaining she couldn’t feel her fingers anymore, and went each to their own bed.

Even under several covers, heating charms and her cats, Lisa shivered, and took a long time to fall asleep, staring at her own ceiling.

She dreamed of Rosé, setting her like a vision dressed in white in the darkness of her eyelids, and letting her soft, airy voice lure her into deeper tides.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SO! My life is about to end this semester, so i probably wont be able to update for a while, but we're only at the halfway point! I have a lot more planned!  
> If you liked it or if something reads weird, please let me know! Or leave a kudo hahah  
> ...Is anyone as crazy for watermelon season as me? :D


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I hope everyone is well. Lets hope 2021 is kinder to us.  
> Heres how the girls spent the New Year!! hahaha  
> Their universe doesnt have a pandemic going on, so please dont think i condone too many people in tight spaces. Please be careful.

The new year had come faster than it was supposed to, and with it, the New Year party Jennie was going to throw along with the launch of her collection. She worked really hard to make both work, and it seemed like it was going to be a success. Lisa and Rosé were on a waiting hall among other well-dressed people, pretending that they _were invited, of course._

"I can't believe she got us inside.", Rosé giggled, holding a glass of champagne. She looked so, so pretty, hair made up in pretty twisting braids and shimmering makeup, laughing and looking like she belonged there, between high fashion and old money. She was the prettiest there.

The blue flowing dress accentuated her curves and made her legs longer, ending on delicate silver heels, straps like vines going up her exposed thighs. The dress was daring, almost scandalously short at the front, and the back flowing like a period piece.

"You like my shoes?", she asked cheekily when she caught Lisa's gaze. She pushed the cloth away, revealing more and more skin, glittering in the half-light of the hall.

"You look beautiful.", Lisa said, softly. She reached out to push a strand of curled hair away from Rosé's face, but dropped midway. "Ah, sorry."

Surprisingly, Rosé blushed, shaking her head. Her ears clinked, little diamond teardrops.

"You look good too, let's get inside.", she said quickly.

Lisa nodded, following her to the gallery. Between the hundred something guests in the room and the photographers, Rosé was more young, pretty and [i]alive[/i] than anyone, looking at the vintage clothes and perfumes with genuine interest, eyes glittering and wide. A few guests turned to them, but soon were back to each other, in their so important conversations.

Jennie had done a great job with the showcase, but the whole thing flew over Lisa’s head. She couldn't really understand why a bag or a jacket was so important to modern streetwear, or how it all tied back to Jennie’s new clothing collection. At home, she preferred to stay in big shirts and sweatpants, and that seemed good enough to her. Rosé grabbed her hand.

"It's full of people, I don't want to lose you in the crowd.", she mumbled, leading them to a food table.

"Ah, ok.", Lisa said, letting herself be taken to it: the prettiest set up she had ever seen, filled with flowers, lace and old toys, little sugar dusted pastries nestled between satin pillows and old porcelain plates.

She had a hard time finding out what was edible in there, since everything was tiny, pretty and covered in glitter.

"I think these are strawberry?", Rosé pondered, holding a little pink heart between her thumb and forefinger. She bit into it, then laughed, voice high and elated. "That's wood!"

"I can't believe you tried to eat the decoration.", Lisa laughed, covering her mouth. The girl seemed almost as excited to bite into it as she would if it was actually food. Rosé started to pile everything that was actually edible on a plate, while Lisa held her glass of champagne and sipped it slowly, eyeing the crowd.

Some were stealing looks at her, a few stares at Rosé bent on the table, little sparkling dress riding up a little on her thighs.

Lisa stepped in front of her back, shielding her and glaring at the old man that had nothing better to do, apparently. He went back to looking at the display of an old Channel bag quickly. She crossed her arms, widening her stance just in case anyone else tried it. Rosé was going to have a fun night, and not a single old, rich man with no concept of personal space was going to take that from her. 

Rosé was trying a bit of everything, then humming deep in her chest, eyebrows furrowed as she tried another. She was probably trying to guess the ingredients, to try to replicate them at home. 

"Ok, I'm good to go, let's find our friends.", Rosé said, cheeks full and holding a small tower of sweets. "Why do you look so mad?", she pouted, shoving a mini macaron into Lisa's open mouth."Try this one."

Lisa closed her eyes, tasting the tartness of fresh berries, clear shining sugar dripping down her lips and into Rosé's finger. 

"That's great.", she admitted, not sure if she was referring to the perfect combination of sweet and sour, or the satisfaction shining on Rosé's eyes. Rosé slowly took her hand away, licking up red sauce from her thumb with a tongue that was even redder. And then she _winked_ at her.

Lisa ignored the skip in her heart, winking back and following her as they made their way into the gallery. Was that an assassination attempt?

Jennie was at the center of the party, looking rich and elegant in a flowing white shirt and corset, talking with a young artist. Now, the artist was wearing the ugliest outfit Lisa had ever seen. It looked crazy expensive, but so, _so_ ugly. The colors and patterns clashed, and she looked like a madman. The woman stuck out like a sore thumb, though she seemed to be pretty unbothered by it.

But she supposed she wasn't the expert in the room, that was Jennie.

Jisoo was at her girlfriend's side, wearing a much more subdued black tailleur combo, hair slicked back showing her forehead and strong eyebrows, looking as gorgeous as always with silver jewelry. Even though the guests were entertained with each other, their eyes always strayed back to the couple. Between Jennie and Jisoo, the poor woman in the middle looked like a hobo.

"Hello!", Rosé introduced herself to the group, kissing and hugging both Jisoo and Jennie, who smiled brightly at her arrival. Lisa guessed they were allowed to hug, then, and followed suit.

"She looks like a little hedge fairy.", Jisoo whispered mischiveously into Lisa’s ear as she kissed her cheek. "So cute I could eat her up."

Lisa only smiled back.

"It seems I'm outnumbered.", the woman said, bowing. "I'll take my leave. Please, Mrs. Kim, keep my offer in mind."

"My people will get in touch.", Jennie said, waving her goodbye.

"Are all designers like that?", Lisa asked as they found a more secluded corner to chat.

Jennie rolled her eyes, while Jisoo laughed.

"She wore flip flops to a gala event. ", Jennie said, mouthing the words as if she said "killed a baby koala". "Ugliest wide pants I've ever seen. Did you even understand the english words on the back of her t-shirt?"

"Calm down, it wasn't that bad.", Jisoo said, trying to reign in her giggles. "At least she was wearing a shirt. Remember when she came into a meeting with a lacy nude bra and an open cardigan? That was funny."

"Potato sack! She looked like a colorful potato sack!", Jennie whispered fiercely. Rosé and Jisoo dissolved in giggles, mouthing "potato sack" to one another.

"Who was she, anyway?", Lisa asked, crossing her legs under the table. She finished her champagne (Rosé's, actually), and flagged down a young boy with soft white hair to fill her glass.

She would get the best out of that night, thank you very much.

"Oh, she owns a little shop for high fashion prints and some traditional paintings, and is a bit of an influencer. Almost two million followers on Instagram, and really interested in starting her own clothing line. A really good eye for patterns. Did I mention all her followers? She promoted this party and invited her industry friends."

"Oh, that's interesting. Will you get in contact with her?", Rosé asked. "She was kinda cute, under that ugly English boy hat."

"As if Jennie would have eyes for anyone else but me.", Jisoo answered quickly, interlacing her fingers with Jennie's possessively. She was pouting, but on her, it looked good, not childish. How did she do that?

"I can't take that little rebel attitude of hers, she knows this was a fashion event.", Jennie said, still fuming. "There's being authentic, or artistic, and just straight up annoying. She looks like she wears crocs at home."

"Calm down, Jennie.", Rosé laughed. "Take a macaron.", she offered, but Jennie only shook her head.

"She eats, breathes and sleeps Channel and can't wear a nice button down once in her life?", Jennie whined. "I had important people to introduce her to. I think we could really do well together."

"So you _were_ going to get in touch!", Jisoo said to her, kissing their conjoined hands. "So nice of you."

"Of course, of course.", Jennie nodded, waving her other hand dismissively. Still, she didn't let go of Jisoo's. "So, how are you girls?"

"I think we are doing great.", Lisa said, eyeing Rosé on her side, who nodded. "We make a good team."

"I like living with her, actually.", Rosé noted, nodding. "She’s learning to put her clothes in the hamper now.”

“Whipped.”, Jisoo whispered to Lisa.

“Ugh, you are way too happy for me. Where's the drama?"Jennie said, rolling her eyes. But she had a fond smile on her face, and ruffled Lisa on the head. “Proud of you, Lisa. And you, Rosé.”, she added. "Living with someone is not easy."

"You look so cute like that!", Jisoo said, jumping at them both and hugging them tightly. "Aren't you glad I got you together? When you marry, I’ll give the funniest speech ever. You two will die of embarassment."

“Oh, that’s the embassador.”, Jennie said suddenly, eyeing an old man in a dark suit passing through. She grabbed Jisoo by the arm. They waved at Lisa and Rosé. “Bye girls! I’ve got some deals to make. Have fun!”

Both stared at each other and giggled.

The now tipsy old people and young models were now dancing between the glass panels that showcased the clothes and accessories, clearly having fun after a few glasses. Lisa and Rosé were in the corner, snickering to each other and pointing who was doing the funniest dances and faces, also a bit past sober.

“You think the lady that wore this ugly earrings had any idea that fifty years later it would be displayed in a party as a relic of old times?”, Lisa slurred, looking at a stone bust with huge emerald earrings encased in copper in front of them.

Rosé’s hand was tightly holding her own, swinging from time to time. How Jennie got to put up such priceless items in a party with drunk people was a mystery.

“Um…”, Rosé said, eyeing the bust, face completely serious. After a few seconds, she started giggling. “I f-forgot what I was going to say, but it was very funny.”

“Oh, don’t worry, I’ll laugh anyway.”, Lisa said, because really, she would. Rosé could list telephone numbers and Lisa could listen to it all day, absolutely hooked on her voice.

Lisa was at that stage where everything felt very warm and hazy and her lips were tingling terribly. After leaving her pendant at home, maybe she had forgotten her own alcohol tolerance. Her eyes kept straying back to Rosé's plush lips, covered in shimmering pink gloss. They looked like they would taste unbearably sweet.

"Hey, are you ok? You look a bit red.", Rosé said slowly, eyes turning to her. She pressed a cool hand into Lisa's forehead, who only sighed in relief. The warm lighting and closed windows helped the party keep a cozy feeling, but maybe it was getting too hot to handle.

Rosé herself seemed a bit off, eyes heavy lidded and blush going strong on her cheeks.

"I'm fine.", Lisa assured her. "I'm great, actually.", she added, snorting and dropping her head into Rosé's shoulder.

She wasn't handling the alcohol as well as she hoped. Her head felt _so_ heavy.

"Oh, sure.", Rosé huffed, rolling her eyes. But her fingers went to lightly comb through Lisa's hair, and Lisa had to bite her lips to stop herself from sighing. "That's why your legs are twisting."

"I'm sorry, you're just very beautiful.", Lisa said. She decided she could blame it all on the alcohol later, and pushed on.

"Pretty, lovely, surely the cutest woman on the planet.", she mumbled, poking Rosé's cheeks.

"How can you say that?", Rosé said, rolling her eyes. "I'm not even the cutest in our friend group."

"To me, you are.", Lisa insisted, stomping her feet on the floor like a toddler. "Wait, you think Jennie is the cutest? Because she is the mean-

"You are the cute one, Lisa.", Rosé said, poking Lisa's nose with her pointer finger. She was blushing bright, almost feverish now. "Cute as a button."

"O-oh.", Lisa couldn't even answer cheekily to that, feeling her chest flood with warmth and unwanted hope.

"Everyone, I hope you're enjoying yourselves. It's time for this year to end. Let's count down!", came Jennie' voice, coming from several speakers around the room. The girl was holding Jisoo's hand and a microphone in the other, looking pleased that her party was a success. "Grab someone, make a wish.", she added, winking.

"What, so late already?", Rosé looked down at her wrist, only to find it empty. She giggled to herself.

"You can't even see the sky from here...", Lisa mumbled, pouting. She always greeted the new year looking at the moon and the stars and hundred little bursts of colorful man-made lights lighting up the sky. It was weird to spend it indoors.

Around them, several people were toasting, hugging each other, getting ready for the new year. A few daring couples were already kissing, a bit early but making up for it with drunken enthusiasm.

Lisa kept her face on the people, but sneaked a glance on Rosé.

"Grab my hand?", Rosé asked, getting up from her chair and offering Lisa her hand. She took off her high heels, holding them with her other hand.

"What?", Lisa asked, strill taking it without thought. What was she trying to do?

"Run, run, run!", Rosé screamed, taking off towards the back of the room, towards an emergency exit. A few people turned to the both of them, confused, but Lisa couldn't do anything but follow clumsily, taken by her hand.

" _10!9!8..."_ , came Jennie's voice on the speakers, loudly followed by everyone in the room.

Rosé shoved the emergency doors open, and here was a metal staircase leading to the roof of the building. She started running up, two steps at a time, while Lisa struggled to catch up in her own high heeled shoes.

_"6!5!4..."_ , came Jennie' muffled voice from somewhere under them, Lisa barely keeping up with Rosé and mostly trying to keep her breathing even.

Rosé kicked the roof doors open, screaming the countdown and gasping for air. Above them, an infinite sky littered with tiny sparkling dots.

"We get to see the fireworks!", she screamed excitedly, throwing her hands up and jumping around, as if she hadn't run a flight of stairs in record time. She threw her shoes somewhere behind them. _"Three! Two, one_!!"

Lisa had _never_ wanted to kiss someone so badly in her entire life. Rosé was right there, hair unmade and crazy ideas, racing up into a deserted roof just because Lisa mentioned she wanted to see the sky. Her bright eyes were lit up with the fireworks exploding all around them.

"Happy New Year!", Rosé yelled, turning and hugging Lisa tightly, swaying them back and forth. They swinged around, arms tight around each other, while the sky around them lit up. She was so warm.

Now they had a whole new year to work together, for Lisa to know her even better, months and months during which she could sigh and daydream of the way Rosé looked more beautiful than the full moon above them.

"I think I'm falling for you.", Lisa said, at the exact same time a bigger firework exploded right above them. Rosé's entire face lit bright green with it, eyes wide and confused.

"What did you say?", she yelled above the explosions. She made a conch with her fingers, beckoning Lisa to whisper in her ear.

"I said Happy New Year, cutie.", Lisa whispered, feeling strangely proud to see that her voice left a trail of goosebumps on the back of Rosé's neck. The other girl only nodded back, holding back a smile.

They laid down next to each other on the cold floor, holding hands and looking up at the sky, the pretty display above them, no words to fill the fizzle and pop of the fireworks.

Lisa herself couldn't really tear her eyes away from the way Rosé's hair spread around her like a blonde halo. Then Rosé took her phone to snap a few videos of the more elaborate firework displays, hooting at a bright red eye that formed in the sky.

A firework exploded above them, and she was turning to kiss Lisa on the cheek, _way_ too close.

There was a bright white flash and then Rosé was giggling at her phone.

Lisa dazedly touched the skin of her cheek, where it felt like the kiss left a searing hot mark. The wind outside was so cold.

"You look so surprised!", Rosé laughed, showing her the picture.

It had Rosé's pretty profile with her eyes closed, lips puckering and kissing Lisa's cheek, who stared straight at the camera as if she had seen a ghost, mouth wide open. The bright flash made everything look whited out, and there was some serious red glare on the edge of the photo.

"Send me that.", Lisa said, giddy to have proof that they had been there. "It looks pretty cool."

It didn't, but it was Rosé. It looked precious.

Rosé nodded, fiddling on her phone and humming, probably wishing happy new year to friends and family.

The explosions died out little by little, and Lisa could only think about how they held hands and how their fingers perfectly intertwined with each other.

"What you're staring so much for...", Rosé said, closing the bright light of her phone. She pouted, turned on her side, holding her head with a propped hand.

Lisa took out her own phone instead of answering, snapping a picture of Rosé laying down like that. She stared at the image, the way her waist curved prettily on the blue dress, and how she glared at the camera, bothered by the sudden bright light, skin bleached white from the flash.

"Revenge for that surprise picture." , Lisa said. "Even though you look great in it."

"Aw, thanks, but delete it.", Rosé said. "I look like a ghost."

Lisa zoomed in on her smile, then on Rosé’s glittering eyes. There was something in them. She wasn’t sure how to name it. Was that how she looked at Lisa at all times?

”Sorry, I think I’m gonna keep this one.”, she said, closing her phone and tackling Rosé into a bear hug. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There may be an extra chapter in a few days, but im having some trouble writing it, so this one is kinda short. CHUU from LOONA may show up!  
> If you see something strange, please warn me!  
> If you liked it, please leave a comment or a kudo!


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry for taking this long. At least it has something like a plot coming together. I apologize if somethings wrong, i wanted to get this out as soon as possible. Also, chapter count update! I do like to write a lot!

They were on the kitchen, and Rosé was trying (and failing) to teach Lisa how to make scrambled eggs. 

“Come on, why do you still struggle so much cracking them open?”, she asked, too amused to even be properly mad that Lisa was spilling beaten eggs all over the counter. “I taught you how not long ago.”

“Sorry, the only thing I know how to make is coffee.”, Lisa said proudly, giving up and going to the sink to wash up. 

It was rare enough that both of them would be awake at the same time (read as: rare that Lisa would wake up so early) that Rosé decided it was the perfect time to make a 5-star chef out of her. 

She shook her had, disappointed at her abilities, probably.

“I can’t believe that you’re so useless outside of potions.”

Lisa smiled cheekily at her. “Can I be excused, then? I gotta start next month’s budget.”

“I’ll call you when breakfast’s ready, then.”, Rosé said, sounding defeated. 

So, the situation was that Lisa was sat on the floor of her living room, trying to make sense of all her orders, her stock, rent and her bills, all in disjointed little slips of paper and letters and notebooks. The end of the month always brought its craziness with it, and, while she never had to actually struggle with making ends meet, it was hard keeping up. As she stared at some receipts, her glasses slid down on her face, and she blew a strand of hair away from her eyes. 

Most of it was already sorted out, but maybe she should start adding some extra ingredients to her monthly apothecary run. But would that even be possible with her earnings? 

She was about to quit and maybe lay down with Leo, who was lazily watching her from the sofa.

"Wow, you actually look kinda hot.", came a voice from the door. 

Lisa looked up, frowning. Rosé was leaning on the door, arms crossed, looking very amused. 

"You should be watching the eggs.", she answered instead, crossing out a few items of her list.

"It's almost done.", Rosé said. "What are you doing?"

"Paying the bills, setting the orders and a product list for next month.", she answered, looking back at Rosé, again pushing the glasses up with a finger. "Want to take a look?"

"Urgh, that looks so boring.", Rosé said, shaking her head. "You look good in glasses, though."

"Hey!", Lisa scolded. "I'm a scholar! A master of my trade!"

"Ok! I'm leaving!", Rosé said, raising her arms in defeat. "Just wanted to say the phone has been ringing in the kitchen for a while."

"And you decided it was more important to tell me I look good in glasses?", Lisa asked, getting up and dusting her knees. "Who was it?"

"I don't know, can I pick up your calls?", Rosé asked.

"It's fine if you take my calls.", Lisa said, going to the kitchen. 

By phone, Rosé had meant the actual  _ phone _ , the business one she kept on the house for clients, a cute classic rotary thing. It was probably an old lady calling, since they loved to get up on the crack of dawn and _do things_. 

Rosé eyed the phone on the table suspiciously, arms crossed. “Who’s even calling so early?”

Lisa shrugged, picking up a strawberry from the pile of pancakes steaming on the table and pressing the receiver against her ear. Rosé slapped her from behind, but quickly went back to the oven to finish the eggs. Lisa bit into the strawberry, smiling.

“Manoban Magical Skincare and Potions, how can I be of help?”, she asked.

The voice on the other side was not old, as she suspected, but young and professional a nd _ male _ . “To whom am I speaking with?”

“...The owner.”, Lisa said, suspicious. It was a bit out of her target range, but she guessed anyone had the right to a bit of magic in their life. “Lalisa Manoban, who is this?”

“Perfect!”, the man said. “I have an opportunity to you, can you do mirror calls?”

Lisa frowned even more. He wasn’t even a client! But Rosé quickly nodded, and ran out of the kitchen, coming back with a cute baby pink handheld mirror. Lisa held it in her hands. “I guess I can.”

The reflection in the mirror shimmered and changed to a sleek office, with a pretty young man sitting in a leather chair. He pushed his round silver glasses up his face, smiling politely at Lisa. “Good morning, Mrs. Manoban.”

Lisa ran a hand through her short hair, cussing Rosé in her head for bringing the mirror in the first place. She was still in her pajamas! At least he couldn’t see she wasn’t wearing pants. “Good morning.”

“As I said before, we have an opportunity for you.”, there was a pause, as if Lisa was supposed to recognize him. “Are you familiar with magical hair tonics? Or the Revival brand?"

"Of course.", Lisa nodded. She even made her own, to keep her hair from falling off from too much bleaching. The Revival hair tonic was a magic tonic that got licensed to industrial production, quite famous around the world for curing male pattern baldness. She snorted at the thought of herself bald and having to use it, but tried to keep a straight face.

"I'm the Revival HR director and im looking for a trained technician to manage one of our divisions. Our company values diversity, so we hire humans and magical beings, but this job offer is exclusive to witches, and your name popped up several times. As a Research and Development Board Leader, you'd manage your own team and answer only to the president. Are you interested?"

Lisa’s mouth dropped, eyebrows raising. A paying, stable job sounded interesting. 

The potion making market was fickle at best, and while she had managed to secure some loyal clients and pretty high end customers, with such a high position in a booming company she wouldn't have to worry about...well, anything. Even the position sounded fancy.

"Yes, yes I am." she answered, grabbing a pen and a slip of paper from the little lyrics notebook Rosé kept around. She quickly scribbled the details about the job, as the man kept speaking and showing pretty graphics in the air. Then he mentioned the  _ salary, _ and Lisa kept adding the zeroes, impressed and giddy. "You're talking about overseeing the Seoul division?"

"Oh, no, It’s about opening up a new one in Spain. I'll send you the proper paperwork and brochures, and we'll keep in touch, yes?”

"Ar...ok, thank you very much.", Lisa mumbled, still dazed. After the mirror stopped showing the office, she received a ping of a notification on her phone with a pretty company email talking about the specifications of the position. Lisa kept staring at the phone, and Rosé appeared, looking shy.

"Gotta check up on breakfast.", she said slowly. As she made the way to the oven, she kept her head down. 

Lisa shook her head, getting out of her daydream. She had just employed Rosé, and moved into her new apartment, and felt pretty good where she was in life. Was a bigger salary even worth losing everything she fought so hard for? 

As she stared at Rosé slowly picking at her pancakes, she decided she was going to stay just where she was. Then, when Rosé hugged her goodbye and got out the house for her shift at the bakery, looking pretty and soft in a pink cardigan, Lisa decided there was absolutely nothing that would make her give that up.

.

  
  


Lisa woke up in the dead of night the same day, hearing a scuttling noise outside her room. 

Having four cats in her house meant that she was pretty used to all sorts of weird noises and things changing places (that is, her favorite mug changing places from “over the counter” to “on the floor”). 

Still, when she opened her eyes and groaned, looking around her dim lit bedroom, all of her pets were huddled in a corner of her bed, laying over each other in a haphazard cuddle pile. Lili was on top of her stomach, crushing her to death slowly, glowing eyes staring straight at her. 

“Did I leave anything on?”, she mumbled to her, rubbing her face. That was not unusual, even though now that Rosé lived there, the kitchen was usually pristine by the time both of them went to bed. 

Even so, she couldn’t risk it.

“Please, Lili, mommy’s getting out of bed.”

Lili stared at her with the most betrayed expression, and Lisa had to push her away while the cat screeched. 

“I know, even  _ I  _ think this is a bad idea.”, she said, putting her slippers on and grabbing her wand on the nightstand. 

Just in case. Why was the air outside her covers so chilly?

She spelled her footsteps silent as she slowly unlocked the door to the corridor. The house was dark and she could barely make the shapes of her furniture as she stood still and waited for sound. 

And there it was, something being dragged and some mumbling, coming from the kitchen. Lisa steeled herself and held her wand tight as she tiptoed towards the kitchen. It was where she kept her most valuable things, and her potion instructions. If someone broke in, she could be in real trouble. 

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN HERE!”, she yelled as she came in the kitchen, ready to fire  _ something _ at whoever was there. 

Instead, she found Rosé, blushed fiery red as she stood in the counter, with a strange looking sludge in a pot. There were several others pots and pans spread through the kitchen, all with the same gray liquid. She still had her work clothes on, the cardigan she wore when she left in the morning. 

“Oh, you scared me!”, Lisa laughed nervously, twisting her pendant. Her heart was racing. “What are you doing? It’s late.”

Rosé blinked, as if she only had noticed her now. Her glassy, unfocused eyes came back to her hands, in which she was grasping her own wand tightly. The knots of her hand were white where she held it. 

“Ah, sorry.”, she said. 

Her voice was deep, but not the usual warm tone she used when they were alone, instead it sounded rough and strangely thin. She dropped the wand in the counter, rubbing her temple. There was a brown stain on her cheek. She looked a mess. “For waking you up. Please go back to bed, I’ll try to be more quiet.”

“That’s not the problem.”, Lisa shook her head, coming closer. “You look terrible, you should go to bed too.”

“Ah.”, Rosé said, smiling weakly. She looked out of it, as if a strong wind could blow her away or make her crumple into a ball. “I need to practice a bit more, it’s not good enough.”

“What are you doing?”, Lisa eyed the several pots around the kitchen. “You’re not this messy, usually.”, she commented.

“I’m trying to do a transmutation spell, but it’s not turning out well.”, she said in a low voice, taking another pot and dipping her finger in it. “Go back to sleep, I’ll be going after you.”, she added, already turning her back to her to go back to work.    
“How long have you been here? It’s…”, Lisa glanced to the kitchen clock. “Four o’clock in the morning. You have a shift in a few hours.”

“Since I came home from work.”, Rosé said bitterly, grabbing another pan from the cupboard and filling it halfway with water. “I’ll be fine, I just really need get it right.”, she added with a sniff, rubbing at her face.

Lisa frowned, yawning, too tired to read too much into it. Should she just let her ~~friend~~ apprentice work herself to death? Not likely.

“You should go to sleep. I can teach you that tomorrow.”, she said then. Her eyes felt so  _ heavy _ , and she yawned again. “It’s super easy.”

Rosé slammed the pan on the sink with a loud noise, and Lisa jumped, suddenly startled awake. Her shoulders were tense.   
“Can’t you stop gloating for a  _ second _ ? I’m trying to do this by myself!”, she said harshly, with her back still turned. “Don’t need your pity everytime I mess up a spell. “

Lisa raised her hands in front of herself, heart still racing from the scare. 

“Sorry, I thought you wanted some help…”

“This once, it has nothing to do with you.”, Rosé said, and her biting tone was so unusual it made Lisa’s blood run cold in her veins. “I gotta get this right by tomorrow, and you’re bothering me.”

Lisa had never heard her talk like that to no one, even when she was angry. This was different. 

“Now you’re being a little rude, I only said…”

“I’m tired, Lisa. It’s four a.m, the kitchen’s a mess and you’re coming in here to say my work looks like  _ shit _ , and I have to be at the bakery in two hours.  _ Do you mind? _ ”

Lisa crossed her arms, feeling vulnerable. Rosé had yet to be that rude to her.

“Look at me, Rosé. What’s going on?”

“Hm.”, she mumbled instead of properly answering. She was probably just tired. 

Lisa rolled her eyes, and got up from her chair. 

“Come on, let’s get you to bed…”, she said, taking Rosé’s arm. It felt cold, and she was trembling a bit. Lisa felt like she was helping a wounded animal out of its hiding spot. 

“Stop getting in my business!”, Rosé yelled suddenly, yanking her arm away. As Lisa looked closer at her, she found Rosé’s cheeks wet with tear tracks. 

How long had she been crying, and Lisa hadn’t noticed?

“I’m trying to do it, I really am, just let me work here!”, Rosé said, going back to her pot and adding a bag of salt in it. She dropped half of it in the counter in her outburst, and hissed at it.

Her hands were still trembling, barely holding the pot. 

“T-this is my kitchen too, you know? You were making a lot of noise.”, Lisa said softly, taken aback. “Is there anything I can do to help?”

“Get out! I said! GET OUT!”, Rosé yelled, throwing the salt bag at Lisa as if it was a stone. It exploded on the wall behind Lisa, dropping salt over her shoulders and hair. Lisa was so surprised she complied, stepping backwards into the living room. Immediately, a shimmering barrier went up, separating the usually open arch that lead to the kitchen. Muffled, she could hear Rosé screaming in the kitchen. 

Lisa stood there, dumbfounded, as she heard Rosé sob on the other side. She sat on the sofa, eyes wide. Should she wait for her to come out? Should she go back to her room? Did she mean “leave the house” when she said “Get out”?

What exactly went so wrong?

She stayed there, hugging her knees. Turned the TV on. It was so rarely used a fern was over it, covering half of the screen.

“... is clouds through most of the morning but heavy thunderstorms in the afternoon. Now, for a national forecast, we have….”

Lisa stared at the TV until her eyes were too heavy to stay awake. She waited for Rosé to come out and for them to make up, but the kitchen was closed off and silent when she dozed off to a fitful nap.

.

  
  


Lisa woke with the sound of keys on the door, and with a terrible pain on her neck. She wasn’t that young to be sleeping on her sofa anymore, but she was scared Rosé would leave before they could make up. 

Rosé was disheveled, to say the least. Her hair in a messy bun and with dark eyebags, she seemed to be struggling to open the door to the apartment. Lisa was most scared by her look, a dark shadow looming in her eyes, making her look older and angry still. 

Lisa got up quickly, just as Rosé worked the door open. 

“Are you going already? Don’t forget to take…”, she started.

“We can talk later.”, Rosé said, going out and slamming the door behind her. 

Lisa stood alone in her living room.

“...An umbrella.”, she finished lamely, staring at the door.. 

Her cats came running after the loud noise, purring all around her ankles as she stood in the living room, hearing the clock tick. 

They could make up quickly, right?

Lisa sent her a message, just to be sure.

_ I’m so sorry for today. Did you eat properly? It’s going to rain today. _

Was that enough? 

It felt as if the other morning where they ate breakfast together and laughed was miles away. 

She stayed a bit longer scrolling through social media before groaning and throwing her phone away from her. Rosé still hadn’t answered, but at least had read her apologies.

“Argh, should I even work today?”, she asked her cats. “I don’t think I can even get out of here.”

All of them stared patiently back at her, and she nodded. “Thank you for your input, I am going to mope around until she comes back.”

.

  
  


It was midmorning when Lisa stopped her morose staring at the wall, noticing the dark clouds in the sky outside. It was going to rain soon, like the forecast had said. Rosé liked to walk back home from her shift, and would be caught in it if she wasn’t careful. 

Then she remembered how Rosé had looked as she got out of the house, and realized the girl was not going to miss the rain. 

She picked up her own umbrella, got her keys and left the apartment, walking quickly towards the bakery. They were not exactly on good terms, but the last thing she wanted was to Rosé to catch a cold or think Lisa didn’t care about her. She wasn’t even mad anymore, honestly, only a bit sad. 

She arrived at the outside part of the bakery, where they left a few seats for clients who wanted to eat in the sun. It was a cute establishment, with a little futuristic moon logo and pretty decoration. Lisa stared at it, half annoyed that the first time she was seeing the famous LOONA bakery and she couldn’t even get in and get something to eat. She walked closer to the glass, eyeing the pastries with interest. The apple fritters looked incredible. Further inside, she recognized the blonde head behind the counter. Rosé was getting hugged by a group of tiny baker girls, and was hugging them back just as tightly. Lisa even dropped the umbrella on the floor, surprised at the sight. They all looked so pretty, and Rosé fit perfectly between them, even though she still looked a bit sad. Lisa watched as one of the smallest, an ethereal blue haired girl got on her tiptoes to give a kiss on Rosé’s cheek.

Now, she wasn’t a jealous person. Not at all. Not a bit. 

But why would Rosé be so mean to her, then run to her prettier friends for comfort?

“Hey, you dropped this.”, came a voice by her side. Lisa startled, jumping away from the glass. She looked at the cow print umbrella she had brought for Rosé, then looked up at the girl holding it. 

“Now that’s not fair!”, Lisa blurted out, because it simply _wasn’t_. The girl looked straight out of a cartoon, unspeakably cute and feminine with her pigtails and bright smile. She had to be a  _ fairy _ , because there was no way a human could look this bright in a barista uniform. Her familiar, a little penguin, was perched on her shoulders, looking just as cute as its owner. 

The girl’s confused eyes widened, and she smiled at Lisa, clapping her hands. Lisa could almost see the sparkles coming out of her. “You’re Lisa! You’re Rosie’s roommate!”, she said excitedly, and even her penguin started wiggling on her shoulder. “You are so stylish!”

Lisa frowned, holding the umbrella tightly in her hands. “You know me?”

“Of course! Rosie talks a lot about you!”, the girl said. “I’m Jiwoo, by the way. Why won’t you come inside? I bet she’ll be so happy to see you!”

Lisa looked at the shining girl in front of her, and then at Rosé’s army of girls behind the counter, already cheering her up better than Lisa herself could. 

She felt out of place. She smiled back at Jiwoo, who had no fault to do with it. 

“Ah, sorry, I was just passing by.”, she apologized. “Can you not tell her I was here?”

“What? Why?”, Jiwoo pouted, confused. “She looked kinda sad today, you could come in and cheer her up.”

Lisa shook her head. “I...I have some things to do downtown, I just wanted to take a peek at the store.”

“Well, then, come in! I just have to finish up packing the outside chairs, because it’s going to rain, then we can go back in together!”, Jiwoo said, not noticing Lisa’s unease. 

Yes, the rain. Lisa looked up at the gray sky. It looked like it would rain any second now. She looked back at the umbrella in her hands. The least she could do was get inside to give it to her. 

But did Rosé even want to see her?

“Actually, I have to leave now.”, she said, shoving the umbrella in Jiwoo’s hands, already stepping away from the store. “Can you give this to Rosé, though? Say it’s a gift.”

She practically ran away from the bakery, too scared of another girl coming out, or even worse, Rosé seeing her. 

Jiwoo held the cute umbrella, watching Rosé’s roommate retreat as if chased by a monster. She went back inside the store.

“What’s that, Jiwoo?”, Jinsoul asked when she opened the doors. She was sat on a chair behind the counter, and Rosé had her head on her lap, looking half dead. 

Since Rosé had come in in the morning, she had looked so disheartened, and then even more when Yves told her she didn’t need to master the transfiguration spell yet, then burst into tears when she asked her what was wrong. At the moment, she was sniffling quietly, telling the girls about a fight with someone and how sorry she was.

“...And then I didn’t have the guts to even answer her message on the phone…”, she said, pouting severely. “What’s that umbrella?”

“Oh, it’s a gift.”, Jiwoo said quickly, shoving the umbrella into Rosé’s hands. She eyed it curiously.

“I think I’ve seen it before?”

“It’s pretty cute.”, Gowon said. “Oh, It’s raining.”, she added softly, as the sky started pouring heavily. 

Jiwoo jumped up. “I forgot to take out the chairs!”

The girls all ran outside to pick up the chairs, and Rosé half wondered where had the umbrella even come from. 

.

  
  
  


Lisa had only taken a couple steps away from the store when it started pouring, and then she stopped walking at all, letting the freezing water seep into her clothes. She half felt like she deserved it.

.

"I'm home. ", Rosé started, coming in with a rush of cold air from the open door. She tapped the umbrella on the floor, getting the excess water before setting it against the wall. 

Lisa looked up blearily from the sofa, trembling from the sudden chill. And smiled. At least Rosé had used the umbrella, after all. 

Rosé's blonde hair was loose, curling at the ends, still a bit wet from the storm outside. She took off her coat and Lisa realized, belated, that she should have gone out with one as well. That was why she felt so awful since coming home. Only a thin shirts and jeans hadn't protected her from the storm that well. 

"Lisa, why are you all wet? You're dripping all over the floor.", Rosé said, frowning as she took her shoes off. She was wearing a black turtleneck underneath.

Lisa didn't get the chance to see that when she got out in the morning. She looked good.

"Ah.", she answered, too tired to really elaborate.

"Did you go outside?"

"You took my umbrella, right? I didn't think it would rain so soon, I got caught on the way home.", she answered, letting Lili lick her face. 

So that was why her cats were so warm. Lisa herself was probably freezing.

Rosé's questioning eyes went back to the cow print umbrella resting back at the door, then widened.

"You gave your only umbrella to me? Chuu said you came before lunchtime and didn't stay. The storm came right after, did you even dry yourself?"

Lisa looked down at her soaked clothes. Somehow, that seemed secondary. She looked up at Rosé, who was her pretty apprentice, who worried for her and had a heart to big for her own good.

"Rosie, I'm so sorry for yesterday, I wasn't thinking straight, can you–"

"Oh, no way!", Rose interrupted, dropping her bag and crouching next to Lisa. A warm hand came on her forehead and Lisa closed her eyes, groaning. "We are not having this conversation when you feel as cold as a vampire. Why is the heating on the house not on? It feels like a freezer in here! "

"But I am sorry, Rosé, please listen to me....", Lisa repeated, fighting off the warm hands that were suddenly all over her face, gently holding her cheeks and spanning the whole width of her neck, trying to heat her up from outside.

"Can you get up? I'll get a bath ready for you, please don't pass out on me.", Rosé said, but Lisa could only hum in answer, eyes shutting back closed. She felt so cold. 

Lisa dozed off for a second, imagining herself in a sunny field, maybe somewhere that wasn't thunder and whistling winds on her windows. The time where she waited for Rosé to come back felt like an eternity. 

She could almost feel the heat of the sun gently lapping at her arms like a physical pressure. Then she opened her eyes and she was in the tub of her bathroom, warm orange scented water flowing around her. She must have fallen asleep.

Rosé was sitting in the edge of the tub, with her arms deep in the water, chanting the heating spell over and over. In the half light of the bathroom, lit by several candles over the sink, everything seemed golden and quiet. The water was already warm, but each time Rosé whispered the words with fervent urgency, a spark of golden shot out from her fingers and it grew a bit hotter. 

"Ah, you're awake.", Rosé said, wiping her sweaty forehead. A few strands of hair slipped from her ponytail, sticking to her face.

Her turtleneck was soaked to the elbow, but she didn't seem to mind. "Only you could get hypothermia in your own apartment. I should thank your cats for saving your life."

Lisa tried to laugh, but she was too tired to do so. The cold seemed such a far away memory, when Rosé was smiling next to her.

"I don't even know how to do the heating spell correctly! Is it Igni or Agni?I didn't know for sure so I kept saying Igni, then Agni right after every time.", she babbled on. "Is the temperature ok? I turned the regular heating in the house already, you should be fine..."

Lisa nodded, splashing water around her.

"Did you...", she started, voice rough. She coughed, shook her head. "Did you take off my clothes?" 

Even in the tremulous light of the candles, she could see pink dusting Rosé's cheeks as she turned her face away.

"You took them off yourself when I dragged you to the bathroom. You seemed pretty out of it, though."

"That never happened before...", Lisa said, mind drifting off. She stared into the shadows on the wall, the pretty glimmer of the water reflected on the fire. 

"Thank you for helping me, Rosé."

Rosé stood still, grabbing Lisa's hands suddenly. The water splashed on her pants. 

It felt different than their usual dynamic. 

Something was shifting in the flickering candlelights. It felt sweet and tangy, delicate like a fruit barely ripe. Rosé kneeled next to the bathtub. They could both breath in the orange mist and breathe out the things they were too afraid to say when the sky was clear. 

"You really scared me, Lisa. You were sprawled in the couch with your lips blue and cold. For a second, I thought..."

"I'm fine now, I'm fine, Rosie. I'm sorry for scaring you.", Lisa said. "I wanted to say sorry for yesterday..."

Rosé smiled, sniffling. Was she crying? It was hard to tell in the dark.

"I should say sorry first. I didn't get much sleep and I took it out on you. I don't know what came under me, I said so many hurtful things. ", she started. "I completely understand if you're still mad at me. I threw things at you. I’m the worst."

Lisa's heart lurched, even in her half-asleep state. She blinked herself awake, and grabbed Rosé's hands tighter around her own. The pitter-patter of her heart was as fast as the rain hitting the roof outside.

"Rosie, I'm not mad. It is my fault, really, you deserve your own space. It's me who should be apologizing."

There was no universe in which she would not forgive her in a heartbeat, but that she kept to herself. There was no need to bare yourself like that when you already had your clothes off.

Rosé's eyes were wide and dark, a pool of black ink pulling Lisa in. She got her upper body out of the tub, coming closer to the edge, elbows holding her up. The girl's lower lip was trembling.

"But you went and brought your umbrella for me at work.", she said, mouth turning downwards. "I got so happy when Chuu said you came in, I thought you were picking me up. I'm so sorry for walking out this morning without apologizing, I was scared of getting late and not getting the spell right. And you got so cold and alone in here..."

Lisa shook her head.

"This was my fault, I chose to walk without a proper coat during this weather. "

"Let me feel bad, Lisa. I'm so sorry you had to make the first move and apologize. I was a moron.", she insisted, wiping her eyes quickly. 

Lisa nodded, sinking down until only her nose and eyes were above the water. It heated her up from inside. She could hear her own heartbeat thudding slowly in her ears. 

Thun. Thun. 

The whole room was quiet, with Rosé pointedly staring into a wall, and Lisa barely moving enough to make the water splash.

"It's Igni.", she mumbled, voice half bubble, half air. 

"What?", Rosé asked, turning back to her.

"The spell. ", she explained, getting her head out of the water. "I wonder why I never told you that. Basic stuff."

"Well, I didn't know.", Rosé said, huffing. 

"The transmutation too, I didn't say that only to make you mad last night. I like teaching you, I just don't really know what I have to explain and what you already know."

Rosé crossed her arms, but her expression was kind. She was always so sweet.

"Well, you could just ask me."

Lisa raised an eyebrow.

"Would you answer me? Honestly."

"Maybe!", Rosé laughed. "Urgh, my sweatshirt is ruined.", she added, looking down at herself.

"You can go after me.", Lisa said. "I'm done with the bath, let me get out."

"O-oh, okay.", Rosé said quickly, getting up and turning her back to her. 

Lisa got out of the water, grabbing a towel and wrapping herself. Dried her hair, then tapped moisturizer in her skin, just to be doing something, not wanting to leave the warm bathroom just yet. In the corner of her reflection in the mirror she could see her friend, back turned to her, taking off her bra. Rosé's hair was pulled over one slim shoulder, and Lisa couldn't look away from smooth golden skin and the gentle curves of her body. Rosé turned, hands in front of her chest, and in a second Lisa was up, shaking her head and walking out of the bathroom. The split moment their eyes met felt electric, and Rosé's eyes were  _ incandescent _ .

"I'm going to bed, call me if you need help with the soaps or anything.", Lisa said quickly at the door. Just the air from the corridor seemed freezing already, and the open door of the bathroom felt like a strange invitation to stay warm and contented. 

Rosé was lowering herself down on the tub, groaning softly. 

"I'm fine, see you tomorrow.", she said, sneaking one last look to see Lisa's pendant in her naked chest glowing faintly, and not knowing what to make of it.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Was this any good? Please let me know! If you could leave a comment, i would love you to death and maybe cry. Writing is such a lonely thing.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wow! What day is it? 👀  
> Just kidding, i couldnt wait till valentines day to post this one. Did everyone watch The Show?

"Good afternoon!" , Rosé yelled as she opened the door, striding in. She had some paper bags with her, and a bright cheery mood apparently as well. "Got some leftovers from work!”

"What are you wearing?", Lisa asked instead. She rubbed her own tired face, almost annoyed at how bright the girl was being in a sunday, of all things. How she woke up everyday at four thirty for her shift at the bakery was still a mystery to Lisa. 

"What, this?", Rosé asked, twirling around. It was a  _ very _ short frilly dress, white and filled with tiny red hearts, and sparkling white sneakers she was taking off and leaving at the door. She topped the whole thing off tying her hair with a red strip of fabric, and there was a little black eyeliner heart under her eyes. "Do you even know what day is today?", she asked, pouting. They walked into the kitchen, and Lisa noted she was wearing little rainbow socks. How cute. 

"I don't even know what year it is.", Lisa mumbled, setting the table. Her plain square plate, and Rosé's little round one, with a little cartoon squirrel on the side. She pushed the latest experiment, a monster parts made serum from the table, watching it fizzle and gurgle at being moved. It was already routine to set the table as soon as the girl got home, since Rosé always came back from a shift famished. It was good, because it kept Lisa for forgetting to eat as well. 

"Of course you wouldn't know.", Rosé sighed loudly, taking off several cream filled pastries and pink cupcakes from the paper bags. "Didn't you girlfriend remind you or something?"

" _ What _ ?", Lisa frowned, sitting down with a cup of black tea. She tapped it for the water on her mug to boil. "I don't have a girlfriend."

"Oh.", Rosé nodded to herself. There was a brief pause, as if it was something she didn’t even consider. "I thought you had plans with someone already, so I wasn't even sure you would be home when I came back from work."

"No, not really.”, Lisa answered, yawning. She dipped the tea bag on her mug. “And you, score yourself some hot date?"

Rosé blushed, looking down at her paper bag.

"No, not really. Just you.", she said in a soft voice. 

“Oh, how lucky.”, Lisa said, tapping her in the nose. Rosé smiled.

“Then, I'll enlighten you. It's Valentine's day!"

"Oh, ok.", Lisa shrugged. 

The outfit was very cute, and now it made sense. "Can I take a croissant now."

Rosé rolled her eyes.

"You’re such a bummer sometimes.", she said, taking the croissants from the bag and biting into one happily. “I am going to forgive you because I am hungry.”

She closed her eyes, humming from pure happiness.

"Is it  _ that _ good?", Lisa asked, unwrapping one. It had a little chocolate heart on top, and edible glitter in it. It reminded her of the sweets they had at the New Years Eve party, and she wondered if Rosé had studied them to recreate them later on. 

"You have to tell me what you see! I made it to trigger good memories with someone you like!", Rosé added, eyes bright. "I named it Love Croissant, but it can be from any type of love, romantic or not. This morning I ate it and remembered my last summer in France, with some friends."

Lisa frowned at the pastry, but took a bite. It was good, flaky and buttery and sweet, but she almost dropped when she was briefly transported into a coffee shop, a younger Rosé winking and flirting and touching their legs under the table. There was a slight fog over everything, making it seem softer, and Rosé's soft smirk even more ethereal. 

She was so beautiful.

"So!!", the real Rosé asked, taking Lisa out of her daydream. "See something interesting?"

"Disneyland with Jisoo and Jennie.", Lisa lied quickly, shaking her head and putting on a fake smile. "These are really good, Rosé."

"Thank you. I found the Memory Potion recipe in your library, and tweaked it a bit to only show memories associated with love."

"What ingredient did you use?", Lisa asked, suddenly interested. The memory triggering ingredient was always a hard part to figure out in that potion. Actually, the whole thing tasted like horse poop, she had no idea how Rosé made it taste so good.

"Cocoa Seeds! It was so easy, of course  _ chocolate  _ would be the flavour of love.", she explained, sighing. "lots and lots of trial and error, though, since the taste is absolutely awful. Wanna hear how I neutralized the wormwood texture in the cream?"

Lisa nodded, letting Rosé launch into a detailed story of how she made the potion taste light and airy as well as sweet with the cocoa seeds, and gesturing wildly as she examined how everyone in the bakery reacted to the croissants, and how well it sold and how she had to fight to bring two home. Lisa only nodded, happy to see her so happy and accomplished in her job.

Lisa was in  _ deep _ , she noticed.

It wasn’t that bad, actually.

"...And then the little old lady said she saw her ex-husband and got really mad at me, and I said it only showed if the memory had some sort of love in it, and...", Rosé stopped rambling, poking Lisa in the cheek. "Are you even  _ listening  _ to me?"

“Not really.”, Lisa said, sighing. “These are too good.”

“Don’t you even care about Valentine's Day?”, she asked, taking a cupcake. “I had to serve like, fifty flirty couples today. Even the owner got candied violets from her wife and was all cute today.”

“So?”

“Don’t you feel kind of left out?”, Rosé asked. “I mean, you’re stuffing yourself with carbs with your  _ roomate _ , isn’t that kind of sad?”

Lisa stopped munching on her croissant for a second, weighing her options. Usually, she wouldn’t even realize what day it was, and would just live her life as usual. Maybe, if she knew it was Valentine’s, she would just hit a nightclub in thigh high boots and find someone for the night. 

None of the options looked as appealing as just sitting in her own kitchen, a cup of warm black tea in her hands, getting to see Rosé pout and talk about her day. Nothing as good as being the person she came home to at the end of the day. 

“Do you want to go out or something, then?”, Lisa asked, tilting her head. 

Rosé was just asking to take the day off and spend it with someone else. Of course, being all times with Lisa for company had to be wearing her down. Lisa had no right to hoard the girl all to herself.

“What, like a  _ date _ ?”, Rosé asked, whole face lighting up. “With you?”

“ _ Me _ ?”, Lisa asked, frowning.“Didn’t you say you wanted to enjoy Valentine’s day? Why would you want to spend it with your  _ boss _ ?”

Rosé dropped her head on the table, groaning. She banged her head a few times. Lisa only stared, vaguely scared of her reaction. 

“I really don’t understand how your brain works, Lisa.”, she said, voice muffled against the wood. “How many times do I have to tell you  _ I like you _ ?”

Lisa felt pure warmth spreading on her chest. She laughed loudly to hide her bubbly happiness. 

“HAHAHAH, so, like a best friend date?”, she asked. “Not as your boss, but as your friend?”, she added, giddy with the certainty of it. 

They were  _ friends _ . Rosé had some measure of affection for her. Life was good. 

Rosé groaned again.

“Put on some pants, we’re going out  _ right now.”,  _ she said, getting up and setting the plates on the sink loudly. “Let’s hope to God you’re quicker at that than you are at taking a  _ hint _ .”

“What?”, Lisa asked, looking down on her stripped boxer shorts. Now she had to put on jeans to get out?

“Pants, Lisa, or else I’m going to kiss you on the mouth.”, she said, already going to the door and putting her white sneakers back on. 

“O-Ok, I’m going, no need to threaten me!”, Lisa whined, quickly escaping back to the safety of her own room.

She had to be kidding. She wouldn’t  _ kiss her _ , not even as a joke, right? 

A cat was staring at her from her bed, not impressed. 

“You’re on top of my jeans, get out!”, Lisa whined, snatching it from under her and shoving it on, along with a bucket hat and a big puffy jacket. 

Rosé yelled from the door that she would leave wether Lisa was ready or not. Lisa ran back to the living room, getting her keys and her wallet. Rosé eyed her up and down, face impassive.

“What?”, Lisa asked.

“You’re lucky you’re hot.”, she said simply, and they went outside into the streets.

Like she had said, there were several couples walking around, hands interlaced. All the stores had heart decorations and beautifully wrapped gifts at the windows. All street artists were singing love songs and a young boy was giving out roses to everyone who passed by.

And all restaurants were booked full.

“Well, that’s for trying to make a last-minute outing.”, Rosé sighed, as they passed through the third booked restaurant. 

“I don’t know about you, but I’m having a lot of fun actually.”, Lisa said, skipping around, smelling her rose. “We could go to the Botanical Gardens. Or the park. Or just walk around.”

Rosé stopped walking, tilting her head.The dress fluttered about prettily. Would Lisa ever get used to how beautiful she was?

“Why are you so chipper today, anyway?”

“I don’t go out as much.”, Lisa said, shrugging. “It’s nice to see people.”

Not to mention a friend date with Rosé was the best thing that happened  _ ever _ . 

They decided to have a picnic at the park, and went inside a tiny convenience store next to the subway for last-minute snacks. While Rosé was picking out the best premade sandwiches (being surprisingly picky for healthy options), Lisa sneaked soda and candy into their shopping basket. Unfortunately, the chocolates were too pricy. She kept tickling Rosé with her gifted rose, snorting all the while.

“A rose for a rose.”, she giggled when Rosé finally snapped and snatched the flower from her. 

“This is why I don’t take you when I go grocery shopping.”, she said. “Ouch, it still had thorns”, she whined, dropping the rose to the floor. Lisa picked it up. 

“Aw, is my baby hurt?”, she joked, laughing. Rosé raised her prickled hand, where a little drop of bright blood swelled. She pouted.

“Let me just…”, she started, and then looked behind Lisa, eyes wide. 

Lisa turned around, seeing an old man at the cash register looking straight at them, with a smile on his eyes. 

“Is he human?”, Rosé whispered. “I can never tell.”

“Yes, he is. Better to not heal just now.”, Lisa whispered back, holding Rosé’s bleeding finger and kissing the tip. 

Rosé blushed to the tip of her ears, and then Lisa put the red rose on her own pant pocket. 

“All better now, right?”, she joked, knowing it would only get better when they got away from prying eyes and Rosé got to heal herself in peace.

The old man at the register gave both Lisa and Rosé a lollipop each when they got to him. 

“Go have a nice day, girls. Love is not something you find every day.”, he said, nodding to himself and waving them goodbye. 

“I feel so guilty now.”, Lisa said as they got out of the store. “He probably thought we were dating.”

Rosé rolled her eyes, letting go of her hand and walking in front of her. 

When had they  _ started  _ holding hands anyway? Lisa wanted that back as soon as she realized it was gone.

“I  _ wonder  _ why he thought of that.”, Rosé said pointedly, with her back turned. “Did you get the grapes for the duckies?”

“Yes, of course!”, Lisa said, unwrapping her lollipop and shoving it on her mouth. She rolled it around her cheeks absentmindedly. “Eurgh. It’s green apple flavored.”

Rosé turned to look at her, and Lisa could swear she was  _ angry _ . In the end, she just huffed and was silent during the subway ride to the park. 

Lisa was too happy for the outing to mind.

The park was full, with couples, children and groups of teenagers enjoying the clear sunny afternoon. Rosé wasn’t able to keep sulking as soon as she saw a golden retriever, and ran up to it to pet it.

“OH my god, look at you!”, she squealed, while the owner smiled at her. Lisa took out her phone and snapped a picture of them, just as the puppy was licking her whole cheek.

It was hard to tell who was more excited to meet the other. 

Then, Rosé got distracted by some kids blowing bubbles, and Lisa took another few pictures. Lisa already had a whole folder dedicated to those little moments of happiness. After a few minutes, Rosé got back. Lisa was sitting in a bench, taking in the early afternoon sun. 

“Did you see the huge puppy that was back there? Her name was Miso, she was the cutest thing I have ever seen!”, she said, sitting by her side. “Can’t we get a puppy?”

Lisa rolled her eyes.

“Aren’t four cats enough for you?”

Rosé crossed her arms.

“I can be a multitask mother. At least I didn’t keep my fishes in a plastic bowl for two years.”

“Now that’s  _ low _ .”, Lisa said. “Hey, wanna hear something?”

Rosé was fiddling with the rings on her hands, but hummed in agreement. Lisa couldn’t hold her smile in, and took out her phone for just one more picture. 

“I’m changing my name. You should start calling me “Salmon”.”, she said. 

Rosé opened one eye, looking at her sideways.

“What? Why?”

“Because salmon pairs well with a nice  _ Rosé _ , you know?”, Lisa said, as Rosé guffawed and slapped her in the shoulder. 

“I can’t believe you said that! Who’s been teaching you?”, she asked, honestly offended. 

Lisa made a face at her and snapped the picture, of Rosé with the golden sun behind her, blushed from the heat, laughing loudly and unashamed. 

They sat on the bench for a few more minutes, just enjoying the sounds around them and the light breeze passing. Lisa touched her pendant once more, sure it was glowing. 

If someone looked at them, somebody who knew nothing about  _ anything _ . 

If someone saw them right now, they would say they were just another couple. 

Lisa sighed deeply. 

“We should go to the lake already, I’m starving.”, Rosé said after a while. Lisa could hear the pout on her voice.

“Of course you are.”, Lisa said, rolling her eyes and ruffling her hair fondly. Rosé whined, but seemed to like it. 

They found a grassy spot under the shade of a fig tree, next to the lake. Lisa eyed Rosé’s short white dress for a second before taking out her own coat and laying it on the ground.

“You sit here. Your dress is white, don’t want to stain it.”, she said, kneeling down to set the food and drinks on the grass. She raised her head, looking up at Rosé, who looked strangely flustered. Was it weird, what she was doing?

Lisa was past the point of caring, anyway. 

“I forgot to say it when you came home, but you look very cute today. I don’t care for Valentine’s Day, but you got me excited for it and I’m having a great time.”, she added, because she was not going to forgive yourself if Rosé looked so cute and she didn’t say anything about it. 

Rosé looked down at her shoes, pushing her little dress lower on her thighs. 

“Oh...Won’t you be cold?”, she asked shyly, as she sat down on the coat.

“I should be asking you the same question.”, Lisa answered, looking at the light clothes the other girl was wearing. As she said, very cute, but not very warm. “The sleeves should be big enough to cover your legs as well, if you want.”

Rosé looked down at the coat, wrapping the sleeves over her bare legs.“Did you bring this coat just for this?”

Lisa shrugged. “Yeah, I just don’t want you to get cold. Like the umbrella, you know.”

“Give me a sandwich or else I’ll just start crying.”, she said, waving her hands in front of her eyes as if she was going to actually start crying for real.

Lisa gave her a tuna sandwich and sipped on her own juice. Soon Rosé gave up eating the sandwich to throw lettuce leaves at the turtles on the lake. They were getting surrounded.

“I wanted ducks! I can’t believe this lake doesn’t have ducks.”, she whined, but still cooed at the turtles that were brave and came a bit closer to her to get food.”Hey...what if…”

“No.”, Lisa cut her off quickly. She opened a bag of chips and contemplated whether she could give potatoes to the turtles. 

Probably no.

Rosé pouted, settling a turtle on her lap. 

“You didn’t even know what I was going to ask.”, she said, petting its head as if it was a dog.

Lisa shook her head. “No, we cannot get a pet turtle.”

“But  _ whyyyyy… _ ”

“Are you going to feed it? Take it for walks?”, Lisa asked, raising an eyebrow. 

“Turtles don’t need walks, they like to stay still.”, Rosé answered, head going up and down. 

“Do you know enough about turtles to know that for  _ sure _ ?”

Rosé made a face at her and fed the turtles some more, still keeping one on her lap. It looked comfortable there, and for a second Lisa had to stop herself from being jealous of a  _ turtle.  _ She sighed, looking up at the shade of the tree they were sitting in. 

“Ahhh, this is really nice. We still haven’t gone to the beach like you said we were.”, she said suddenly. 

“I need to prepare. I don’t even have a biquini.”, Lisa said, thinking back on her cluttered wardrobe. She probably had one, suffocated under a thousand tshirts. Just thinking about it made her tired, so she laid down on the grass, looking up at the sunlight filtering through the trees. 

“We could go shopping, then.”, Rosé said, nodding to herself. “I need to get tapioca flour and some vanilla extract as well.”

“You don’t need to buy vanilla extract.”, Lisa said suddenly, thinking back on the vanilla beans she bought from the apothecary. She even stored them properly and hid them in her room. Could she give it to her as a Valentine’s gift?

Did friends even gift each other on Valentines? She was going to do it anyway.

Rosé narrowed her eyes.

“Why?”

“Just trust me on this.”, Lisa said, smiling cheekily. “Also, why are you like the only person I know that makes  _ homemade boba tea _ ?”

“It tastes better!”

“It took literally an entire afternoon to roll all the little balls by hand! Is all that worth the effort?”

“If you actually got out of the house and drank boba from a store you would know.”, Rosé countered, hugging the turtle on her lap and playing with its paws. “Erh, you are so hard, Tutti.”

“You gave it a  _ name _ ?”

“Of course.”

Lisa groaned, going back to laying on the grass and munching on her crisps. The sun was starting to set. The people were filtering out, and the park’s lights started turning on. A single early star started twinkling in the sky. 

It felt good to imagine future plans with Rosé. Lisa hoped after this friend date, their shopping trip and going to the beach, they would go to other places together as well. She was going to stay. Rosé was staying. 

Lisa hummed, deep in thought.

“Aaaaa, I don’t want today to end!”, she finally yelled, kicking her feet out childishly. 

“Are you going to eat your chips?”, Rosé asked, already reaching for Lisa’s bag. “We could still go somewhere afterwards.”, she said as she chewed. “If you want today to keep going.”

“Like what? A bar?”, Lisa asked. Rosé didn’t seem the type to go to bars. 

“A club. You said you danced, and Jisoo said you were really good, but you still hasn’t shown me.”, Rosé said. “I bet I’m a better dancer than you.”

Lisa actually laughed out loud.

“In your dreams, Rosie. Did they have Gatherings in France? We could go to one of those.”

“Gatherings?”, Rosé laughed. “That sounds ominous.”

“Oh, you’re going to love it!”, Lisa said, sitting up and clapping her hands. “ It’s a little pocket dimension that opens every few weeks, and humans can’t enter! So everyone goes a little wild and it’s really fun.”

Rosé looked down at her turtles. She seemed to be really concentrated on it. 

“Everyone?”

Lisa shrugged.

“You know. Witches, Fairies, the whole lot. There’s a club in there that serves the best Full Moon ever! I haven’t gone there in so long!”, she babbled.

Some people of her old dance crew still did shows in the Gathering, and it was one of the few places where she felt like she could breathe, aside from her own home. A place were she could show up wearing real phoenix feathers on her hair and float instead of walk, and no one would even glance at her twice.

“Ah. That sounds nice.”, Rosé said. She looked down, and started picking at the grass. Tutti the Turtle waddled out from her lap and into her sandwich container, after more lettuce scraps.

“You don’t sound really excited.”   
“I don’t know. I’m really trying to ease back on the magical stuff now that I’m back home, but it’s hard, you know? I had a mostly normal childhood.”

Lisa stopped, frowning.

“Normal. You mean  _ human _ ?”

“France and the magical community there isn’t as big, so I just...didn’t look for them. I lived just like a human. No one new.”

Lisa thought back on her own childhood, all that time feeling dreadfully lonely and different. If she had given up, would she be like Rosé?

Would she be happy like that?

“That’s why you don’t know many spells?”, Lisa asked.

“My mom didn’t teach me anything. She didn’t want to make my dad uncomfortable, and he was human. All I know is because I researched it myself.“

Lisa reached for Rosé’s hand. She probably felt a lot lonely like that, too. “And you got work for a magical bakery to fix that? And our apprenticeship? It must have been hard.”

Lisa felt wounded. She knew it wasn’t Rosé’s fault, it wasn’t anyone’s fault, really, since they had to hide themselves to survive. She wasn’t sure if she was angry at her or  _ for  _ her, for living like that for so long. She wished they had met each other sooner. 

How would a thirteen year old Lisa like Rosé?

She would probably fall in love all the same. 

“Every day I was afraid I would get found out and you would fire me. That’s why I’m so used to like, hiding my healing and stuff.”, Rosé added. There was no emotion in her voice, as if she was afraid to let it out. “Like at the convenience store earlier today. And why I didn’t understand why the girls at the bakery looked at me weird when I volunteered to serve the human customers. Like we are supposed to be kept  _ separate _ .”

“Rosé, I’m so sorry for that.”, Lisa said honestly, putting her hand into hers and squeezing tightly.

The sun had fully set by now, and the pale light from the moon made Rosé look even more ethereal and distant. “I’d have never fired you, even if you had told me that back then. Being a witch is a gift. I hope you can enjoy more about this part of you, now that you’re back with us.”

Rosé teared up, wiping her eyes quickly. She looked at Lisa, and tried to smile, but the tears just kept flowing.

“Ah, now you’ve really made me cry. I get so emotional on Valentine’s Day!”, she said, laughing and still tearing up. “I got back so lost, and now everyday you teach me something new about myself. You and the girls really saved me.”

She was still crying, and Lisa couldn’t help but noticing how, even though she was full on sobbing now, she still looked like an angel. So she did the only thing she could do, and hugged her tight while she wept.

After some time, or maybe none at all, and some calming down, she rubbed her red eyes.

“I want to go, Lisa. I want to go to the Gathering and have a good time, if you still want to.”

“Of course. It’s going to be great.”, Lisa said quickly. 

A man in the park’s uniform approached them, looking straight at Rosé.

“Excuse me, Miss. You can’t touch the turtles.”, he said, pointing at Tutti, who was still on Rosé’s lap. “You two should go home soon, the park will be closing in ten minutes.”

“We are not taking this one home, you know.”, Lisa said quickly, before Rosé could say anything. “Thank you for warning us, we will be out before it closes.”, she said to the man, who only nodded and started going towards another couple overstaying their welcome in the park.

Rosé held the turtle tight on her arms, as if it would run away if she let it go.

Lisa let her, if only for a few moments more. The space between them felt tender. Rosé opened up so much about herself, and Lisa wondered if she should have said something about her own experiences, or if she should keep quiet. Mostly, she was glad she was trusted enough to be told such things. 

“Let the turtle back to the lake. I promise I’ll let you cuddle the cats when we go back home.”, Lisa whispered to her.

Rosé stared at her in silence, deathly still. Then let go of the turtle, who waddled away into the dark water, where it splashed as it went in. 

“You’ll have to help me up. My legs are numb”, she said, raising her arms like a baby. Lisa pushed her up, and they collected the trash from their picnic and threw it in the bins around the park. As they made their way to the subway, Lisa noticed Rosé was still wearing her coat, looking like she was getting swallowed by it. 

“Did you like it? I thought you said I looked ugly with it.”, she said, as Rosé jumped around as if it was the most beautiful piece of clothing ever. 

She snuggled into the coat, pushing the sleeves over her fingers.

“It’s warm and smells like you. I like it now.”

Lisa’s hand was already over her pendant before Rosé could even finish the sentence. In the half-light of the subway corridors, she was sure she would be shining like a lighthouse. 

The train was almost empty, but still, everyone sat close to each other, murmuring low with intertwined hands. It was a lovey-dovey day, after all. 

After a while, Rosé put her head on the crook of Lisa’s neck, swaying slightly with the car. 

How nice it would be if Lisa could just twist her own head and place a kiss on the corner of her mouth. How sweet it would be if she could take Rosé’s hands in hers and blow warm air into them, and whisper of how much she loved her. 

As a man across from them crossed eyes with Lisa and smiled, pointing to his boyfriend fast asleep on his shoulder too, sharing a moment so private with strangers on the train, Lisa thought.

How  _ utopian  _ would it be if Rosé felt the same way?   
  


  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We are somehow nearing the end of it all, how are yall feeling?  
> Please leave a comment, or else this will feel like its just me suffering and writing by myself and i see you all silent readers! I see you and invite you all to come by to chat, im answering everyone and i get so happy when i get comments!


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I literally thought i posted it weeks ago lmao  
> Please, i love when i get comments and I check my inbox everyday for them! Thats why i started writing this! So please, if you have something to say, specially critiques, im open to it :D

Entering a gathering always felt a bit weird, as if she was going underwater for a few seconds. Her world turned upside down, then Lisa wiggled herself out of an empty tree stump, into a wide area with tents and fairy lights and people. Rosé was already somewhere inside, as she went straight after her shift at the bakery and Lisa was busy at home until late.

There were several guitars playing somewhere, and lots of people up on the trees, in hammocks or simply floating a few feet up. The whole garden seemed warmer than it should, with the colorful bonfires all around. Lisa smiled, taking it all in and letting her magic get used to so many creatures in one place. Several curious faces peered down from the treeline, and she smiled and waved at the little faeries.

"Hello, you!", came a tinkling voice by her side. Lisa turned, and there was a very pretty fae boy holding an unlit cigarette between his fingers. "Got fire, witch?", he asked, showing off his sharp teeth in a crooked smile. He looked young, maybe a hundred or so.

"Not a fire witch, I'm sorry.", Lisa said, but she took out a lighter out from the back of her jeans. "You don't look like you need it, though.", she added, tossing the lighter to him. 

His pupils engulfed his eyes in pitch black like a cat's, and he blinked once, before catching it in midair. He laughed, lit up and exhaled a cloud of bright blue, laughing softly as he gave her the lighter back. He pushed his hair back, exposing his forehead as he did. He knew he looked good, she couldn't fault him for that.

"Got a name, pretty girl?", he asked, looking at her under long eyelashes, all coy suddenly. 

Lisa shook her head, smiling.

"You know I can't tell you that. You can call me Pranpriya.", she said carefully.

He paused, pondering her answer.

"Hm." , he said, a long dark red tongue coming out to lick his lips. "Almost tastes like your name, but it's not anymore." 

Lisa smiled.

"Such a pity, I was hoping I'd take you home tonight.", he added.

"Didn't suit me.", she explained, shrugging. "It's got no power over me, sorry."

"Meh.", he said, shrugging. The red tip of his cigarette immediately went out with a flick of his fingers, and he went flying back to the opening of the tree stump, transparent wings fluttering under his weight. "I'll get the other one that comes up. Maybe they won't be as smart as you."

"Good luck!", Lisa said, giving him a thumbs up before going further into the garden party. 

Such a pretty, innocent boy. As if anyone would fall for that old trick. She smiled to herself.

A little vampire girl with the sweetest smile came up to her, holding a flower crown. Lisa took it, laughing all the while.

It was filled with garlic blossoms.

A little kid passed running, screaming, holding a lit firecracker. Her horns had little bows tied on them. Everyone looked happy and carefree, for once.

She bought a candied apple from one of the street vendors, an old river spirit that always gave her a discount, and was munching on it as she made her way away from the wide, market-type area and into one of the most reclusive alleys, where most of the people her age looking for a good time went. The garden area was nice, but was usually filled by kids and their parents.

The lights got dimmer, the trees more sparse, the beat lower and deeper in her stomach. She could smell smoke and magic swirling around.

Lisa nodded to the slow melody floating around, tossing a gold coin into the water fountain were several mermaids were singing eerily. One swam up to her, peering at her through wide glass green eyes, and spat a live fish on her hand, smiling cheekily. Lisa thanked her with clicks and chirps, and made sure to put a stasis spell on him and get him in her fishbowl once she got back home. 

Now she arrived at the real party. Two centaur guards were in front of the gates entrance, only stepping (or trotting?) aside to let her in, and again the feeling of walking underwater enveloped her. She shivered. Cross dimensional walking was no joke.

She only had one goal tonight, and that was finding Rosé inside the mess that was that place, and having a good time with her. 

She took a red cup filled to the brim with ichor, sipping it as she waved at a few known faces. Jennie was there, talking to that same weirdly dressed artist from the vintage New Year show, champagne glass in hand even though it was a low class party. Lisa was actually curious to know what kind of magical she was, since she felt mostly normal to her at the time. 

She pretended not to see her ex girlfriend grinding on a satyr, ignoring when she winked and beckoned her closer, using up all of her incubus charm. She looked the same, dressed to kill, down to the same black shorts, thigh highs and silk shirt combo, campy makeup on and lips painted red. She flipped her long hair and went back to her new victim when she realized she wasn't going to get anything from Lisa. The blue and pink lights bathed everything eerily. 

Lisa rolled her eyes at her, glad that she had dodged that bullet early on.

There was a huge apple tree in the middle of the room, several couples using it as support to make out or carve their names on it with sharp nails or shining knives. Somewhere up there was Lisa and her ex's name, from a time where she spent every night partying and didn't even know up from down. Could she regenerate the bark over it? Maybe carve another combo on top of the failed one? 

She was tracing one of the names on it with her fingers when Jennie tapped her on the shoulder. 

"Having fun?", she asked, voice slightly slurred from the champagne, which only made her look cuter. "Jisoo and I fought.", she pouted. "Because I wanted to stay home and eat nachos.She's somewhere around the enchanted pool."

"Does she know you're here?", Lisa asked, frowning. "With her?", she added, pointing to the oblivious artist girl, who only waved excitedly at the both of them. Jisoo was an incredibly level headed woman, but if Jennie got out of hand, not even her cuteness would save her from Jisoo's wrath.

"No? I don't even like her.", Jennie whined, waving her hand. "One of her ears is bigger than the other, it's impossible."

"Of course it is.", Lisa agreed placidly, taking Jennie' glass from her. "How about you drink some water? What _is_ she, anyway?"

"Some type of water spirit, I think?" , Jennie started, frowning at the memory. "Something like that. She turns into a human to seduce women and drown them after or something. Get her to take her stupid hat off and she dies? I don't remember what she told me.", she said, sipping on the water Lisa brought her. "I hate her and her stupid ears. Damn the day I invited an influencer into my exclusive vintage show."

"Then why were you talking to her?", Lisa laughed, getting Jennie to put back her cardigan on and leading them to the pool area. The artist girl only nodded at the two of them, going into a mass of people dancing in the middle area.

Someone came running to them, and hugged Jennie. Lisa let her go, letting the two of them talk it out. 

“Jennie! I was looking for you everywhere!”, Jisoo said. Her smoky eyes were smudged. “Where were you?”

Jennie pouted.

“Are you still mad at me?”

“For what? The Taco Bell thing? “, Jisoo asked. “I forgot about it already, come on.”

She held Jennie in a half-armed hug, and thanked Lisa.

“Go have fun, ok? Rosé’s looking really pretty. She was waiting for you.”, she said, winking. “Go get her, tiger.”

Lisa felt herself blush, but left the couple to go to the outside pool area. She had someone to see.

.

The garden party was lovely, but Rosé was the prettiest, hair braided with flowers and little twigs filled with berries, lips painted cherry red. She was twirling around barefoot in a flowy sundress, laughing and taking sips of a tall glass of sangria on her hand. It looked like an angel having fun in heaven.

Lisa eyed the other guests, all getting a little more daring as the night went on, opening a few buttons on their shirts or taking off their jackets. She saw a pair of horns, a fang here and there, some shining silver hair just a touch too brilliant to be natural. 

It felt good to be among them, and even better to belong. 

She waved at Rosé when their eyes caught, but was quickly taken by someone who wanted to introduce a friend. Lisa had a business to take care of, so she couldn't just dismiss her clients at a social function. She hugged some people, drank a little. After all, these people were her friends too.

It seemed Rosé was pretty popular as well, with a few people hanging out with her and taking in every word she said. Lisa had to let her enjoy herself for a bit before monopolizing her. It would do no good to smother her. The whole purpose of coming in the first place was to let her know that she wasn't alone.

Lisa was cooling off by the pool, only now feeling slightly tipsy and warm from the party, when Rosé finally came for her. She arrived with a rush of sweet fruits with a hint of alcohol. Lisa smiled at her before even recognizing her. 

“I’m so glad you invited me!”, she said, excited, eyes shining. There was a bit of smeared lipstick on her neck, and Lisa hoped it was her own, though she actually had no right to do that. “I’ve never seen so many magical people! Everyone’s so nice!”

“It feels good, right? No need to hide at all. A human would feel out of place here.”, Lisa said, patting the spot by her side to let Rosé sit as well. Rosé dipped her feet on the pool, making little electric blue waves form around her slim calves. She giggled, splashing more water before settling down, sighing and looking at the night sky. 

Since it was a pocket dimension, it wasn’t the same sky they had back on Earth, and not even the same moon, but the overhead lights twinkled on, closer than possible. 

Rosé’s eyes were wide and searching, reflecting the tiny stars and making a galaxy of their own inside them. 

They were far from alone in that party, what with the soundboxes and sirens singing, a hundred drunk magical beings all around them, but Lisa truly felt as if she and Rosé were the only people in the world. 

There was a silent bubble of safety and warmth, _rightness_ when they were like this. Just sitting next to each other, enjoying not saying anything because there was no rush to.

“Thank you so much, Lisa.”, Rosé said suddenly, breaking the silence, turning to her. “For the job, for letting me stay at your house, for letting me be your friend…”

Lisa bit her lower lip.

“It’s nothing.”, Lisa choked out before Rosé said anything else. She looked down, to her outstretched hand, just a few inches far from her. 

Rosé was wearing several thin silver rings, etched with little runes and jewels. Her hands were lovely, long and tapping on the concrete.

“Argh, just hold my hand already!”, Rosé huffed impatiently, quickly twining her fingers along Lisa’s, rolling her eyes in the process. Lisa looked down, embarrassed after getting caught. She felt her cheeks heating up. It was probably the alcohol. 

“Stop looking at me like a little dejected _puppy_. Way to break the mood I was going for.”, Rosé said, pouting.

Why was there a mood she was going for?

“I’m not a puppy.”, Lisa whined. “I’m a cat. You should know that!”

Rosé rolled her eyes again, opting to simply swing their hands together in silence, looking at the bright unnatural blue of the pool. The light danced on her skin, electric on one side and warm from a far away bonfire on her left. She caught Lisa’s gaze again, and smiled at her. Lisa’s breath caught in her throat, a million thing unsaid. 

_She’s so pretty._

_I wanna kiss her so badly._

She stopped her thoughts on their tracks, hoping they weren’t too loud for Rosé to catch on, since she seemed especially sensitive to her moods. Maybe witches could do telepathy, if they were specially talented and cute and blonde.

Sometimes she could swear they had only one mind between their bodies, completely attuned to each other. 

But Rosé was only humming and wiggling her feet underwater. Her cheeks were bright red.

“It’s so warm in here.”, Rosé noted, fanning herself. “I can’t believe no one is using this pool.”

“They wanna look cool, I guess.”, Lisa said, shrugging. 

“Aw, Lisa, you’re the coolest”, Rosé said, poking her in the cheek. “With your bad girl leather jacket and the big boots.”

Lisa rolled her eyes, taking the jacket off because yes, it was pretty hot in there. Down to a lace cami top, she tried not to feel Rosé’s eyes on her before they flitted away. 

What was it with all the _staring_ lately?

It felt like maybe she was holding back _something_ , sometimes.

Lisa saw it, the way Rosé sometimes would open her mouth and stop herself, shaking her head. 

Then Lisa took off her “bad girl boots” as well, dunking her feet in the blissfully cool water, sighing.

They talked more, about the books Rosé was reading and about the kids Lisa was tutoring in her dance class, about potions and pastries and movies and chords, laughed at funny photos on their phones, then took a few awful selfies just to keep the moment forever.

The night never got colder, or darker, always in that perfect purple spot just after the sun went down, and Lisa wished the both of them could stay forever like this. Her heart felt light and bubbly.

“What song is stuck on your head?”, Lisa asked, just to say something, make Rosé smile and answer in that raspy deeper voice she only used when it was just the two of them.

Sometimes, when she napped in the balcony or in the living room, Rosé would read aloud one of her theory books, just to help Lisa fall asleep with the sweet cadence of her accent. 

It was hard to see with so much fake light all around, but Lisa could swear Rosé was blushing. Maybe it was the sangrias getting to her head.

“Erm, the one we danced to a few weeks ago? L.O.V.E.”, she said, looking down.

“It reminds me of you.”, she added, _whispered._

Like it was a secret.

“What? Why?”, Lisa laughed loudly, to cover up her surprise.

Rosé thought of her when she wasn't around. Wasn't that crazy?

“Why remind yourself of me if I’m right here?”

Her hands on Rosé’s were so warm, her heart felt full for maybe the first time in her life.

“I don’t know.”, Rosé mumbled, wiggling her feet in the water again. Then she got up, unhooking their hands from each other. Lisa pouted, it felt so good she wished they never separated at all. “Maybe you won’t later? At least I can have the song with me then.”

“Rosé…”, Lisa started, looking up at her, then stopped. Whatever she could say would be stepping over their fragile relationship. Friend of a friend, roomate, apprentice…

“Argh, whatever, I think it’s the wine making me sappy”, she said, shaking her head. Her hair bounced with the flowers, and some dropped on the pool water.

“Ah, when I saw you before, you made me think of a poem.”, Lisa remembered, trying to fish it from memory. She used to recite it all the time, if only to annoy her friends, but now seemed like a good time to use it. Rosé stopped to listen, attentive.

“It goes like this:

_But you, O Dika, bind your hair with lovely crowns,_

_tying stems of anise together in your soft hands._

_For the blessed Graces prefer to look on one who wears flowers_

_and turn away from those without a crown.”_

"That’s beautiful.”, Rosé said softly, hands coming to touch her own braided hair, suddenly bashful of the little strands that stuck out. "I can't believe you know how to recite a poem."

Lisa had the biggest urge to tuck Rosé's behind her ear, and maybe kiss the spot right after.

They breathed in unison, and there was nothing else.

Rosé tapped her bare feet on the grass, nodding to the far away melody from one of the last flute players of the party. Lisa wished they could stay forever like this. It was cute how she was never completely still, always drumming her fingers or shaking her leg. 

“Can you stay right here and close your eyes? I have an idea.”, Rosé said suddenly, smiling at her and helping Lisa get up. She had a devilish smile on, the glitter on her eyes sparkling in tandem.

“Promise you won’t get mad?”, she asked, when Lisa promptly shut her eyes and waited for whatever Rosé had in store for her. There was a feeling, a little electric current, a _something_ when their hands brushed for a second.

Lisa held her pendant tightly on her hand, feeling her heart race with a thousand unfinished thoughts. It could be anything, a gift, a joke.

_Is she going to…?_

“I, I trust you.”, she managed to get out, before she felt Rosé giggle sweetly, a whispered “you _shouldn’t_ ” on her ear, leaving goosebumps in their wake.

The grass near the pool muffled the sound of her footsteps, so she could be anywhere. As soon as Rosé was far enough from Lisa, the garden felt chillier than before. There was the low murmur of conversation, glass clinking and the water from the pool splashing. With her eyes closed, Lisa could feel the warm summer breeze, and the grass under her feet. No Rosé with her fingers interlaced with hers, though.

Lisa stood there, trying to figure out where she was, breathing deeply, not daring to move or make a sound. It could be anything. She crossed her arms.

“You better not leave me out here li—"

There was running and hands wrapping around her waist and she was falling down, down. The world turned on its axis and Rosé’s excited face was right on its center as they both toppled down into the pool, splashing water everywhere. Before Lisa fell, she closed her eyes, vaguely thinking she wouldn’t mind if the world ended right there, with Rosé on top of her, both weightless, forever about to fall. 

Then everything turned blue and Lisa couldn’t breathe, lost in a thousand bubbles and heavy wet clothes. She heard laughter.

Lisa was the first to come up, spluttering water and wiping hair out of her eyes, swimming up and showing the middle finger to some elves that hooted at the scene. She looked around, just in time to see a tower of bubbles coming up from the deeper end of the pool, and Rosé was swimming up at her, delighted and giggling. Her blue and green dress flowed around her like a living being. A true goddess. The underwater lights made her whole face glow blue, hair unmade from the fall, a golden halo around her. The flowers were all around them, floating.

Rosé swam closer, still smiling, still glowing, like a dream come true. 

Lisa couldn’t even _pretend_ not to love her. 

“Did you see the splash we just made?”, she asked, swimming up to her and using Lisa as a support to hold herself up, laughing, laughing. She was solid, quick and nimble as she went up. Lisa couldn’t fake being angry at her, and giggled. They were both high from each other, literally steaming from the cold. Rosé held herself up with her legs on Lisa's waist, arms around her neck. 

Lisa held her friend's body close, feeling her ribcage and her heart beating wildly under the frills of her dress. Rosé was even lighter like this, easier to hold, like she was made for just being pretty on Lisa’s lap. She closed her eyes, barely believing their position. 

Their noses were almost brushing, and Rosé’s pouty bottom lip was right there. Lisa looked her on the eyes seriously, and there was a flicker of _hunger_ in her eyes when Rosé gazed back, as if daring her to do something.

The heartbeat under her fingertips sped up, then Lisa was _sure._

Their first kiss tasted like peach lip balm and chlorine. For a fraction of a second, Rosé didn’t move at all, eyes wide, but then there was the _sweetest_ sigh and a hand firm on Lisa’s neck, twisting up to pull at her wet hair. Their lips were cold from the water, but quickly warming up against each other, everything was desire and warm affection and resolution. There was a burst of something delicate inside Lisa, but the slow kisses were way more interesting, addictive and sweet like honey, dripping down her spine and making goosebumps on their way up. 

Having Rosé was even better than anything she could have imagined, and way better than anything she deserved. She held her tighter, then even tighter when there was a pleased hum in response. So she liked that.

They pulled off dizzyly, Lisa light-headed and feeling her own lips tingling. Rosé was breathing shallowly, her eyes wide like she couldn’t even believe in what they had done. Lisa pushed her blonde hair behind her ear like she always meant to do.

“I’ve always wanted to do that.”, she confessed in a low voice. It felt like everything was finally in it's proper place.

It would be cheesy to say that the stars aligned or maybe she heard bells and fireworks while they kissed, but maybe the stars did align, and maybe there were bells still ringing in Lisa's head. Maybe she was utterly in love.

Rosé was still staring, her breathing turning even quicker. 

“Are you okay?”, Lisa asked, quickly concerned. “Do you need help getting out of…”

 _“You shouldn’t have done that_.”, Rosé whispered, eyes wide and panicked. She swam away from her, into the border of the pool, getting out quickly, looking like a drowned kitten. It seemed almost as if the devil was after her.

“What? Where are you going?”, Lisa asked, frowning, swimming after her, getting out of the pool, finally feeling the cold air hitting her. Rosé seemed on the verge of tears now, squeezing her hair to get the water out, uneven puffs of air coming out of her lips. She was trembling.

“You shouldn’t have done that!”, Rosé screamed now, twisting the ends of her dress. She passed a hand through her wet hair, eyes shut tightly. “That was _wrong._ That was wrong of you and I’m even more wrong to have let you.”, she added, shaking her head. 

Lisa felt her face crumpling up, frowning.

 _What_?

“...Wrong?"

The water was dripping down, forming a puddle around them. It felt like free falling into an abyss.

"What are you talking about?”, Lisa asked, so, _so_ confused.

It couldn’t be. Even though she was already cold and wet, she felt like someone dumped a bucket of ice water on her. Rosé's teeth were chattering as she spoke.

“Us! All of _this.”_ , she said, gesturing back and forth to the space between them. “I’m leaving.”

‘Leaving _what?”,_ Lisa asked, trying not to cry, grabbing Rosé’s hand, only to get it shaken off roughly. “Leaving what, Rosé?”

“The party, the apprenticeship, your _house_.”, Rosé said. 

Leaving _you._

“Shouldn’t have come in the first place, oh my God…”, she added, voice trembling, lips turning blue as she spoke. She went on her knees on the grass, hugging herself. Lisa ran back to the edge of the pool, getting her jacket to cover Rosé up. They were both shaking.

“Rosé, please, you’re going to get a cold.”, she pleaded, when Rosé only shook the jacket away, getting up. 

“Sorry, Lisa, I got carried away.”, Rosé said firmly. “I didn’t think it would get this far, never wanted to lead you on. I…”

“Rosé, I think we’re both a little drunk, let’s go home and talk in the morning?”, Lisa begged, pleaded, when Rosé only shook her head.

“I’ll go find Jennie, she'll let me stay at her house tonight.”, she said. “You should get dry or something.”, she added, turning back to go away. 

“Are you really leaving after that?”, Lisa asked, hand coming up to grab at her pendant, only to find her own neck empty. 

It must have broken and dropped on the pool when they both fell. The small comfort of magic wasn’t there to protect her against so much _hurt_. 

“We kissed a bit, so what?”, Rosé yelled, turning from her way back to the busier part of the party. Just a few meters away, but Lisa just wanted to run up to her and get hugged.

“Get over it!”, Rosé said, opening her arms. “Jisoo should have _never_ introduced us!”

She turned her back again and walked briskly out of Lisa’s sight.

Lisa stood deathly still, ripped open, hearing herself drip water down on the concrete of the edge of the pool, making a small puddle at her feet. She looked down, and found her sight bubbling with tears. Cold, alone and a little drunk, she had nothing going for her, for sure. Now she had just gone and lost her best friend, her co-worker, the _love of her life_...

Her breathing got quicker and quicker against her will, her lower lip trembled, and she cried hard like she didn’t in years, heaving alone in the now dark and empty pool area. The sun was about to rise, but it never felt so dark.

  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, if you liked it, leave a kudo or a comment telling me what you think! It makes me write faster!  
> The artist is inspired on a real legend, but Jennie couldn't tell the story properly. It is usually a man in a hat that drowns or gets the women pregnant originally, but I don't want more men than strictly necessary in here.  
> This is really close to the end. I'm kinda sad that it's almost over.


End file.
